Hurricane Gregory
by superboy-jamie
Summary: Jamie, the new Superboy, helps residents of a community that is stricken by a hurricane.


Hurricane Gregory

Written by Rex Torres by Forest McNeir concept and ideas by William Handy new Superboy Jamie story

This story is dedicated to the brave men and women who risked their lives to save the lost and the stranded residents of New Orleans, Louisiana, following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y – Part 1

Prologue

A small crowd of kids formed a line just outside the door leading into the large building, housing the main cafeteria at the camp site. The building was situated on a large tract of land, hidden deep in the woods which extended over most of southern Georgia. The camp site was just north of the Florida state line and many organizations reserved the facility for their youth summer camps.

This week, it was a church in Metropolis, which had reserved the camp grounds for about 75 kids, ages 10 through 16. They scheduled to be there for about a week. There would numerous activities, including hiking, fishing, camping, and the like. The main building housed the cafeteria and a series of classrooms, along with a library, recreation center, a football field and a baseball field. There was an outdoor swimming pool, even though most campers preferred the large lake just a mile from the grounds.

The campers had spent most of the afternoon hiking through the woods. They all lined up cheerfully, waiting their turn to have their hunger silenced with some hearty vegetable soup and a large bowl of spaghetti. Almost all the campers had made it back to the cafeteria. The counselors had thought all the campers had made it back.

Even though most of the tired and hungry campers were had their minds on supper one among them, a tall African-American boy had another more pressing concern. He was not like the other kids. Thanks to his powers he could not be hungry. His "nourishment," such as it was came directly from the sun. He could eat but he certainly didn't have to. As for feeling "tired," it would take more than a day's activities in summer camp to tire this boy out. He was worried. His younger brother, Jamie, and his brother's best friend, Gregory, were missing. They had not returned with the other kids and the camp counselors had not yet noticed their absence.

"Holy moly" Wesley thought to himself, as he peered around the cafeteria while he waited in the mess hall serving line. "Where are Jamie and Greggy now?"

Ten minutes passed. All the other kids had been served and seated or were cued up in the serving line. Only Jamie and Greggy were unaccounted for.

As Mr. Staples walked past, Wesley called to him.

"Yes, Wesley…" the man answered, while he perused the schedule of activities for the following day.

"Have you seen Jamie and Greg?" Wesley asked him. "They're not anywhere around here. I've looked all over the mess hall and I know they're not still in line."

Mr. Staples looked around. Not seeing any sign of Greg or Jamie he replied, "I haven't seen Jamie or Gregory. They're bunking in cabin 14. Could you go down there and check? And then please come straight back here and let me know whether you've found them, or not. Alright?"

"Yes, sir…" Wesley replied. He stepped out of the line and headed for Greg and Jamie's cabin.

As soon as Wesley realized he was no longer in view of anyone, he vanished into thin air.

In an instant, the tall, black, teenage boy seemed to materialize right in front of the entrance to cabin number 14.

"Jamie?" he called as he knocked on the door.

There was no answer. With his x-ray vision, he peered through the opaque walls. He saw eight bunk beds, neatly stacked against each wall, with numerous backpacks, books, maps, and clothes cluttering the cold, concrete floor. The cabin was deserted.

Wesley closed his eyes for a moment, while he tilted his head down. While looking at the floor, he closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. Why wasn't Jamie at the cafeteria? Why didn't he come back for dinner, as they had all been instructed to do? Why do these things always seem to happen every time Jamie went out and paired up with Greg, his best friend? All these questions filled his mind. They fueled his frustration and made him very angry.

Wesley turned around and disappeared once again. A fraction of a second later, the super-powered boy materialized out of sight at the rear of the cafeteria. He circled the building and entered through the front door. He gave the room a quick glance but, his hope that Jamie and Greg might have returned in his absence, was in vain. There still was no sign of either boy.

"Mister Staples…" Wes said to his counselor, who had already taken his seat at the large table. "Jamie and Greggy aren't in their cabin. May I go and look for them?"

Mr. Staples looked up at him, concerned.

"I'd rather not have you go out into the woods all by yourself, Wesley. Why don't we go out and look for them together?" he replied to the boy.

Of course there was no way Jamie could ever get lost. He knew too well that Jamie was capable of flying out of the woods and getting back to the camp on his own, very easily. But Wes was trapped. No ordinary boy had any business venturing into the woods, all by himself. Although Wes was far from ordinary; he was a super boy, he could not afford to compromise his secret, so he was obliged to accept Mr. Staples' perfectly reasonable proposal, that he accompany Wes as they went to search for Jamie and Greggy. Little did Mr. Staples realize; his present would greatly hobble Wes' efforts.

After a few moments, Mr. Kyle Staples and Wesley walked out of the building and made their way towards the woods. Wesley decided to stay with his counselor for a few moments. He knew that he could find Jamie in a heartbeat, by just flying over the woods or running through the brushes at super speed. He was just waiting for the right moment to break away, so he could be on his own for a moment…

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 2

Several squirrels dashed up the thick oak tree when they heard the two humans walking over the branches and the leaves, which were scattered all over the ground. When the squirrels looked down from the branch, they saw two teenage boys wandering through the woods on their own. Both boys were wearing t-shirts and shorts, and they both wore hiking boots. Both had backpacks slung over their shoulders. They were headed back to the camp site.

"Gregory, I think we made a wrong turn. The campsite is that way!" one of the boys said, as he pointed west. The first boy was short and stocky. Only eleven years old, he was far stronger than any human being on earth. He didn't need a compass or a map. His extraordinary senses allowed him to locate just about any person, any place, or any thing on earth. The boy had the physique the caliber of a young gymnast, who could easily have wowed the crowd at the Summer Olympics. His parents had not allowed him to participate in any team sports at school, because of his phenomenal powers. For the boy, given his super human abilities, it was just too dangerous. He could not be hurt, but he could easily have injured one of the other kids. Moreover, given his incredible speed, strength and agility, there was no way, all the other boys on Earth combined, could have given him a fair match-up. And he had to protect his secret. This week long trip to camp was a golden opportunity for the young super hero to spend time with several other kids of his own age.

"I realize that, Jamie!" the other boy replied annoyed. "I just wanted to follow the creek! Look!" Gregory pointed at the small, narrow stream of water.

"Greg, we're several miles away from the cabin. I heard them ring the dinner bell already! We're going to be late for supper! Let's go back!" Jamie pleaded with his best friend. "We're late for dinner!"

"Alright then… Let's go on back, Gregory mumbled. "I just wanted to see where the creek would take us…"

"Yeah, but if we don't show up at the dinner table soon, then others are going to be concerned, and people are going to start looking for us! They're going to think we're lost!" Jamie responded.

"We can't get lost, Jamie!" Greg reminded him. "You're Superboy! You've got super powers! You can fly us out of here and you can get us back at the cabin in nothing flat!"

"Of course, Greggy!" Jamie replied. "But, I can't afford to do any super stuff here! And if we don't start hiking back to the cabin now, then we'll get there much too late for dinner!"

"Alright… "Gregory replied. He had hoped that Jamie would fly him back. He was getting tired, and he wasn't much in the mood to hike back to the cabin. He was thinking of something to say to Jamie to convince him to fly him to the campgrounds anyway, when he stopped and noticed a squirrel hopping right before him.

"Jamie!" he whispered to his buddy. "Shhh!"

Gregory quietly walked up to the squirrel. He was about to reach down so that he could pet the small, furry animal, when the squirrel suddenly hopped away from him!

"Aww…. Oh well…" Greg sighed, as he slowly turned around to face Jamie. "I wonder why the squirrel suddenly ran away from me."

Suddenly, Greg saw a tall, dark figure standing right behind him!

"Aaaaah!" Greg shouted, startled at Wes' sudden appearance.

"Wesley!" Jamie shouted!

"Wesley?" Greg exclaimed, as he took a step back from the tall, dark teenager.

"Wesley! What are you doing here?" Jamie asked him.

"I was wondering the same thing…" Wes replied, in a very serious tone of voice. "What are the two of you doing out here at this hour?"

"We were walking the creek and we had decided to follow it so…" Greg began to say in reply.

"You're three miles away from the cabin!" Wes shouted angrily. "The dinner bell rang almost thirty minutes ago! Pretty soon, some of the counselors are going to start to wonder where you guys are, and they will have to organize a search party to come and find you!"

"We were about to walk back to the cabin! We weren't planning on staying…" Jamie explained.

"You're LATE! You strayed away from the path the counselors told you to follow. You guys never made it back to the cabin, when you were told to be back. And, lastly, it seems to me like you two are LOST! Whose brilliant idea was this, anyway?" Wesley challenged angrily.

Jamie suddenly bowed his head guiltily. He could not meet his brother's eyes.

"It was my fault… I told Gregory to…" Jamie began to say contritely.

"Don't lie to me, Jamie!" Wes shot back. "I know you well enough to see when you're covering for Greg! I'm psychic, remember?"

"We were on our way back to the cabin…" Greg replied.

"…Thirty minutes late? Come on!" Wes sneered back at him. "What do you think I am? Do you believe I'm that stupid?"

For the moment, the three boys just stared at each other in silence. Jamie would've covered for Greg if he could have. He was loyal to a fault but he also knew there was no fooling his brother, even without psychic powers. Wes knows him and Greg both inside and out.

Wesley glared at the two boys angrily. "You ought to be ashamed of yourselves…" he hissed. Then he ordered, "Jamie, fly Greggy back to camp. Do it now! Watch your landing zone to make sure you're not seen. If you hurry, might get back in time to get some of the leftovers from supper.

"Oh… Okay… Come… Come on, Greggy…" Jamie said quietly.

Jamie reached out to gently take hold of Greg's arm. He was about to lift off the ground, when Wesley suddenly approached Gregory and placed his hand on Greg's right shoulder. This sudden move surprised both Jamie and Gregory.

"You and me… We're going to have a man-to-man talk… as soon as we get back home…" Wesley said to Greg, in a chilling voice.

Greg gulped at the words. He had never seen Wesley this angry before. And Greg was well aware of the fact, that Wesley meant business.

Wes backed off, while staring at both boys.

Jamie couldn't bear to see Wes like this. He was sad, hurt, and he felt deeply ashamed. Somehow, in the back of his mind, he knew that he would face the music as soon as he'd get back home, after the camp was over. He just bowed his head and stared at the ground, while feeling for too ashamed to look Wesley in the eyes.

Wesley turned around and then disappeared into thin air.

For the moment, both boys let out a sigh if relief. Then, they turned to face each other. Without saying a word, Jamie reached out once more, and gently took hold of Greg's arm.

"We… We'd better get going…" Jamie said, while showing a tentative smile. "I guess we're late enough already and I don't feel like getting into any more trouble than I already am right now…"

"I'm sorry for getting you in trouble again…" Greg murmured back to his best friend. "I guess your brother has every reason to hate me right now…"

"He doesn't hate you…" Jamie responded. "Trust me. He doesn't hate you…"

The two boys slowly began to hover above the ground. Within seconds, the two boys were soaring over the woods, looking down as they continued to ascend higher and higher into the sky.

"There's the cafeteria!" Greg pointed out. Jamie nodded, as he steered the two boys toward their destination. This was no time for aerial sightseeing. They were already thirty minutes late.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 3

As soon as the boys touched down on the parking lot in front of the cafeteria, they immediately took their backpacks off, as they hurried towards the main door to the hall. When they walked in, they were greeted by Mr. Staples, who let out a sigh of relief when he saw the two missing campers.

"Where were you guys?" he asked. "You guys had me scared to death! Luckily, Wesley told me that you were on your way back over here, or else I would've organized a search party to come looking for you!"

"I'm sorry, Mister Staples… We had lost track of time…" Jamie offered contritely.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you two have made it back! Now, hurry along… Both of you pick up a tray and get in line. Almost everybody has eaten already! Most of the kids are already back in their cabin, or watching TV in the main lounge area. After you're done eating, I want you to go back to your cabins right away, so that the rest of your roommates know that you're okay!" the counselor instructed the two boys. "Don't stay up too late tonight, because we'll be going fishing early in the morning!"

"Yes sir…" Greg replied politely, as he grabbed two empty rays from the rack set alongside the start of the serving line.

Greg handed one tray to Jamie before placing his own on the counter before him. The two boys scooped up the last bit of leftover spaghetti, before heading to one of the empty tables.

Luckily, neither boy realized that Wesley was standing right outside of the building, watching them using his x-ray vision. Jamie was too preoccupied getting his food, to wonder about Wes' whereabouts or whether or not he might be eavesdropping on them with his super vision and super hearing.

"Jamie, I'm just really concerned about Wesley, you know?" Greg said to his buddy, as they both took their seats, facing each other. All the other kids had already eaten and had gone back to their cabins. Jamie and Greg were the last two people in the cafeteria.

"Don't worry about it, Greggy!" Jamie assured him. "By the time we get home, I bet Wesley will have long forgotten about this. Don't worry, he won't say anything…"

"I hope so, Supes…" Greg sighed. "I really do hope so…"

"Wesley isn't the type of person to hold a grudge." Jamie replied quietly, as he took a big scoop of spaghetti. "He may look really mad, but he really isn't. His bark is far worse than his bite! Don't worry!"

"Hah!" Greg protested. "You're not worried. Obviously, Wesley can't do anything to hurt you, Supes! In my case, he can cause me a lot of pain, just by flashing his heat vision at me!"

"Greg!" Jamie exclaimed defensively, "Wes would NEVER hurt you! He would never hurt anyone; any more than **I** would!" "I know he seemed really angry at you. C'mon, Greggy, I thought you knew Wesley better than that!"

"Okay…" Greg sighed. In the back of his mind, though, he didn't see it as a good idea, to get on the bad side of a kid, of ANYONE with super powers….

The boys awakened early at the sound of the camp claxon. In response, the campers lined up at the entrance to the main cabins. There were 32 boys and 43 girls in the group, which consisted of the children of several churches. From their separate cabins, the campers were mustered into a large group. Seven counselors escorted the group on a trek down a popular hiking trail leading to the edge of a large lake about three miles from the camp.

Greg and Jamie were together, as usual. They were delighted when they came across the ideal spot to pitch their tent for the night.

"Jamie! You know that they're gonna let us sleep in our tents tonight out here by the lake" Greg asked his best friend excitedly.

"Well… We don't have to sleep in tents! We just need to let Mr. Staples know if we want to sleep outside or not. But, I'm perfectly happy sleeping in the cabin, to be real honest with you…" Jamie responded.

"Oh come on!" Greg coaxed. "Where is your sense of adventure? We're leaving tomorrow! This is our last night! Let's camp out and sleep in our tent tonight!"

Jamie rolled his eyes a little and just returned a smile.

"Come on, Supy! You'll be sleeping in your own bed tomorrow night, okay? Let's camp out and sleep in a tent tonight!" Greg insisted.

He knew that it wasn't all that hard to convince his buddy to do something. Furthermore, Jamie just giggled at Greg's new nickname for him: "Supy". He came up with it, since Superman's nickname was "Supes".

"I'll ask Mr. Staples if we can get a tent to use tonight! I think this area right here, near the shore of the lake, will be perfect! Let's set up camp tonight here, and we'll heat up some soup or some chili or something!" Greg added. "What do you say, Jamie? Are you in?"

"I'm in…" he sighed. Greg had managed to talk him into something again.

The kids marched back to the cafeteria, where they enjoyed a hearty breakfast. They were all hungry and thirsty, so the breakfast with eggs and pancakes, milk and juice did them all some good!

After breakfast, the kids enjoyed their free time. Greg and Jamie hung out in the lounge. There were video game machines, a pool table, a large screen TV set, and several tables for playing board games, backgammon, checkers, or chess.

Greg and Jamie got together with Andy, Brian. The four boys played several rounds of Monopoly, poker, and various other card games, before the counselors announced that it was time to line up for lunch. That afternoon, the kids were served soup, salad, and lasagna.

"Hey, Jamie!" Greg said, as he sat down right next to his buddy. "According to the schedule, we can go fishing, or we can get together and play games at the athletic center!"

"Well, we can also go fishing when we camp out by the lake tonight, can't we?" Jamie asked him.

"Sure! So, why don't we hang out at the athletic center this afternoon?"

"Okay…" Jamie replied. He resolved to take things slow, and to try hard not to stand out too much in any of the games.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 4

The athletic center was housed in a complex of buildings and courts located just a mile from the main building at the campsite. Gregory and Jamie walked over to their cabin so they could change into some comfortable clothes, before they made their way over to the athletic fields.

On their way to the gym, Jamie and Gregory passed several outdoor basketball courts and two tennis courts.

"Hey, would you like to play tennis?" Greg asked his partner.

"I can try. I've never played before…" Jamie shrugged.

The two boys walked up to a registration desk, where they checked out two rackets and a can of three tennis balls. At the court, Greg started the rally by serving.

Greg gently served a ball at Jamie, who was standing on the other side of the net. Jamie just extended his arm and held the racket, so that the ball would bounce right against the string of the racket. Unfortunately, he failed to swing his racket, so the ball just bounced from his string and landed on the court, about a foot or so in front of him.

"Jamie! You need to swing the racket!" Greg instructed his partner. With his racked, he demonstrated a standard forehand stroke.

"Oh… okay…"

Greg patiently walked to the middle of his court, where he bounced the second tennis ball in front of him, before hitting it over the net with the stroke of his racquet. As soon as the ball had bounced onto Jamie's side of the court, he swung his racquet back, before slowly swinging it forward. The ball bounced off the strings on his racket, but it landed in the bet in front of him.

"Awww… This is hard! I must be doing something wrong…" Jamie wondered to himself.

"No, Jamie! You need to hit the ball a lot harder! You need to get the ball over the net!"

"Oh, okay. I get it…" Jamie replied.

Gregory served the third ball right at Jamie. The ball bounced on Jamie's court, before he swung his arm back. He the swung the racquet forward at near blinding speed, striking the ball with the center of the strings on his racquet!

POW!

The ball ricocheted off Jamie's racquet with such force, that the strings snapped! Not only that, but the ball soared high over the net, and over the back fence, ascending high over the sky at supersonic speed!

"Oops…"

Jamie held his racket before his face, and realized that he had broken a string!

"I guess I can't use this racket anymore…"

"Jamie! All you needed to do is hit the ball over the net just hard enough, so that it will bounce on my side of the court!" Greg complained. "You don't have to knock the ball into orbit!"

"Oh… I… I guess I don't know my own strength…" Jamie said, embarrassed at his gaffe.

"Oooh boy…" Greg sighed, while rolling his eyes. "I shouldn't be surprised, since I'm playing tennis with Superboy…"

"So… What do we do now?" Jamie asked.

"Let's just go for a walk. That way, I know you won't break anything…" Greg said, as he started to walk back to the registration office. The boys returned the rackets to the lady behind the desk. Jamie dutifully apologized for breaking the string on the racquet and losing one tennis ball…

The two boys strolled around the track, the soccer field and the baseball diamond. Several boys were playing basketball on the small, concrete court. Jamie and Greg just stood by the side line of the court, when one of the players had lost the ball. The basketball rolled right towards Gregory, who squatted down and scooped up the ball.

"Do you know how to play basketball?" he asked Jamie.

"Sure! I've played that before!"

"Here, see if you can make a basket with this…" Greg chuckled, as he passed the ball to Jamie.

Jamie palmed the basketball in his right hand and cocked his arm every so slightly. With his eye on the hoop he launched the ball into the air. It sailed down court and passed through the hoop with out touching the rim or the backboard.

"Whoa! Good shot!" Greg cheered.

Since he and Jamie were actually standing alongside the center line of the court, he realized that Jamie had made a half-court shot from the sideline of the court.

One of the boys walked up to Jamie, and asked him if he wanted to play on his team.

Jamie obliged, and he joined the boys. Greg just smiled, as he watched his super-friend play basketball with a group of regular kids.

Greg just looked on from the sidelines, as his buddy played basketball. Jamie made every shot, of course, although he tried not to play aggressively at all. He didn't try to block anyone, or steal the ball. Whenever he would get the ball passed to him, he would dribble it a few times. Most of the time, he would just pass the ball to one of the other players on the team. He did go for a couple of shots to help out his team! He made every one of his shots, the ball passing cleanly through the hoop, without touching the rim.

After ten minutes, the short match ended, when two of the other players left. Jamie quickly rejoined Greg, and the two boys walked quietly off the court.

The two boys spent another hour wandering around, before they headed back to the main building. They enjoyed their free time, lasting well into the evening, so they could decide what they wanted to do during the evening and the following morning. The only thing Mr. Staples had requested from them is that they get enough sleep.

The boys met with Mr. Staples at the main camp admin and supply building, where they were issued their tent and supplies for that night. They reported their selected camp site, the farthest out from the main camp building, a secluded spot alongside the lake shore.

Along with their tent, they were issued a small cook pot, sandwiches, and boiled-in packets of food, several bottles of drinking water, and a bag of marshmallows.

After a three-mile hike, Jamie and Greg reached the proposed site, where they worked together pitching their tent.

"Do you want some soup, or some chili?" Greg asked him, while he held up both packets.

"Oh, I'll eat just about anything. I'll go for some chili, unless you want it!" Jamie replied. "But, let's eat a little later, after it gets dark!"

"Alright…" Greg replied, as he set the two bags by the little pot in the tent. "I guess I'll go for a swim, before we have our dinner…"

Jamie hadn't needed Greg's help to pitch the tent, but he wanted this campout to be a shared experience with his friend. He had used his strength to drive the tent stakes into the ground, and then Greg looped the ends of the ropes over them, which allowed the tent to stay upright firmly. Greg laid down their ground tarp inside the tent and then Jamie laid out their sleeping bags above the tarp.

Gregory quietly waded into the water, while Jamie read a comic book.

Greg swam about 8 meters or so from the shoreline and allowed his lower body to drop reorienting from horizontal to vertical. He allowed himself to sink to the bottom. The depth was just over his head. He landed in some underwater plant growth and quickly found his legs entangled in them.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 5

He bobbed to the surface. There was just enough slack in the underwater vine that he was just able to break the surface with his head. He tried to kick himself loose but couldn't manage to free himself. His concern quickly gave way to panic.

"Aaah! Jamie! JAMIE!" he shouted. "Something grabbed hold of my leg! Help! HELP!"

Jamie tossed the book aside and leaped into the air. Within seconds, he was hovering right above Greg. He reached under Greggy's armpits and lifted him up out of the water. As his feet cleared the surface he could see the vines that had entangled his legs and feet.

"Boy; am I glad to see you!" Greg sighed, as Jamie held him up, while floating in mid air.

"Yeah, Jamie agreed. I'm glad I was here. I can see under the water with my x-ray vision. There a huge patch of that stuff. If I hadn't been here, you could've drowned." As Jamie held onto Greg, he focused his laser vision on the water and hit the patch of under with an incinerating blast. "There," Jamie said "That patch of vines won't ever do that to anybody else!"

Greg explained, "I shouldn't have panicked. If I'd kept my head, I probably could've worked myself free of that stuff."

Jamie answered, "Well, the important thing right now is that you're safe. Are you okay, Greggy?"

"Yeah… I'm alright… Thanks for pulling me out of there, dude…"

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jamie wondered out loud. "You're shivering!"

"I'm cold… And I guess I'm still a little spooked." Greg replied.

"Oh…"

Jamie was still feeling a bit worried about his best friend.

"Uhh… Jamie? Could you please do me a favor?"

"Sure?"

"Could you please set me down? I'm getting cold, just floating above the water like this…" Greg pointed out to the super kid.

"Oh… Sorry, Greggy! I just wanted to make sure you're okay…" Jamie answered, as he slowly floated towards the tent. When he was right over the opening, he set Greg back down on his two feet, before touching down himself.

"I guess we should make something to eat, before we go to bed, huh?" Greg suggested to Jamie.

"Yeah! Do we need to make a fire?"

"Of course" Greg added. "That way, we can heat up a few marshmallows!"

"I'll gather some wood!" Jamie cheered, as he walked out. In an instant, he raced across the shore of the lake at super speed, collecting branches along the way. Within seconds, he was standing before Greg, holding a stack of dried out branches in his arms.

"Awesome! Set them, down over here, dude!" Greg laughed. Greg had become so used to Jamie by now, that he was completely unfazed by the boy's super powers.

Jamie gently took one of the dry branches and focused his eyes as two pencil beams of light fired from his pupils, striking the tip of the branch, igniting it.

"No, no, no! Not that way!" Greg protested.

Jamie stared at his buddy in confusion.

Greg grabbed two branches and started rubbing one against the other, while Jamie looked on. Jamie quickly turned towards the burning branch that he held in his hand, and blew out the flame with his breath. Then he tossed the branch back in the pile, before he walked up to Greg.

"Okay, I got it. Give me those. Let me do it!" Jamie insisted.

Greg handed his super buddy the two branches. Jamie then rubbed the two branches together at super speed, setting both on fire!

"There ya go!" Jamie chuckled, as he handed one of them to Greg.

"Do you have to use your powers to do everything?" Greg sighed, as he rolled his eyes.

"What? One day, you'll have super powers of your own, and then you'll use them as much as I do now!" Jamie concluded.

"Alright… Let's heat up some marshmallows, before it gets too late!"

The boys lit the fire using the two burning branches. They then sat down next to each other, with marshmallows skewered onto the ends of the branches.

"It's funny, the way you brought up the thing about you having super powers" Greg pondered. "Do you remember the first day, when you first told me about your super powers?"

"Yes! I sure do!" Jamie answered in response. "I remember it like yesterday…"

Jamie started to think back to the first day of school, when he met Gregory for the first time.

"I remember when I first met you two years ago, when we were together in the sixth grade. School had just started, and I was very nervous about going to the new middle school for the first time. When I met you on that first day of class, I knew right away that I wanted to be your friend, because you were so funny!"

"You came to school wearing a Hawaiian t-shirt. You had a big smile on your face, and you were always saying something to make me laugh. I remember feeling so nervous that day, but that changed when you started telling your silly jokes in class! I knew right away that I wanted to be your friend."

"And I remember that there were those kids who were bigger, older and taller than me. I've always been one of the shortest kids in school, and I was an easy target that day."

"Mom and Dad had just adopted Wes and me, new to Metropolis, and I was new at school and I didn't have any friends at all besides Wes. I was horribly shy, and my brother, Wesley, was constantly reminding me to be extra careful about everything I said and did. I had a really hard time, especially in P.E. class, because I knew that I was faster and stronger than all the other kids, but I didn't dare let anyone know."

"I remember the day when we were playing basketball, and one of the bigger kids, Keith, practically ripped the basketball out of your hands so he could make a shot, before shoving you hard enough, that you actually fell on the floor. I didn't like that, and I walked up to you reached out my hand to help you up. For some reason, Keith didn't approve. He started yelling at me. He grabbed me in a choke hold."

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 6

"I knew that I had to hold back my strength and let him bully me. Since you didn't know back then about my super powers, and you stood up for me. I remember so clearly how you pulled on his shirt. Keith let go of my neck. Then he turned on you. I remember you kept shouting at him, telling him to leave me alone! Keith was about to go after you, when the coach walked in from the locker room, and put a stop to it. Keith got detention, and he didn't bother us for awhile. I really appreciated you standing up for me. And that's when I decided that I wanted to tell you my secret."

"After class was over, I met you in the hallway and I told you to follow me to the gym. After a few minutes, when I was sure that all of the other kids had left the building, I took you inside of the gym. As soon as we got there, I shut the door and made sure that nobody else could see us. Then I walked up to you and told you again how much I appreciated you sticking up for me, but that I could defend myself really well. I remember you looked kinda skeptical. You asked me what I had going for me, since was so short; you wondered if I knew Karate or Jujitsu. That's when I told you about my super powers! You laughed, of course... You didn't believe one word of it! Neither would I, in your shoes. Then, I lifted off the floor and flew in a circle above your head and then touched down back in front of you. Your mouth was wide open and you were all bug-eyed, Greggy!" Jamie laughed, "If only I would've had a camera! The expression on your face was… priceless! I told you about being from Zyrton and having these strange powers, just like Superman, and that it was a secret of mine. You promised to keep my secret."

"Dude, we were friends from day one" Greg replied to Jamie. "And I didn't know anything about your powers. You didn't even have your Superboy costume yet!"

"Well, one thing I really appreciate about you, Greggy…"

"What's that?" Greg wondered.

"Besides my parents and Wes, you're one of the few people, who know me the way I really am! I can be myself when I'm with you! I don't have to put up an act or try to hide anything when I'm just with you! I really appreciate that about you…"

Greg nodded gravely. "I like hanging out with you. In fact, I was going to ask my parents if you could come along with us, when we travel down to Florida next week! That is, I'll ask if you're game. Do you think you might like to come along with us?"

"Florida? What are you going to do there?" Jamie asked him.

"My family is going to Gulf Breeze to visit my grandma. There are awesome beaches there, and my grandma runs a small convenience store on the beach. We'll get to swim and hang out at the beach. Not only that, but they have the best seafood there! Would you like to come along with us?"

"Sure! But, I gotta ask my parents first…" Jamie responded in a serious tone of voice.

"Oh, I don't think it should be a problem. We still got about two weeks left before the new school year starts! You should ask your parents as soon as we get back to metropolis, tomorrow afternoon!"

"Okay!" Jamie cheered. "I'll ask them! I think it would be cool, for me to hang out with you and your family in Florida!

"Cool… Well, I'm really looking forward…" Greg began to say, when he stopped at the first sound of what appeared to be footsteps of someone, who was approaching their tent.

"Someone's coming!" Greg exclaimed.

The two boys noticed the light which came shining from the end of the flashlight, which the adult was shining in their direction.

"Oh, don't worry! It's Mister Staples!" Jamie pointed out.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! I saw him coming with my x-ray vision!" Jamie responded.

The two boys suddenly looked up; when they realized that their camp counselor was standing before them, shining a flashlight in their faces.

"Are you boys alright?" Mr. Staples asked them.

"Yes, sir! We were just talking while we were sitting here, around our fire, and eating marshmallows." Greg explained to him. "Would you like to try some?"

"No, thanks. I just wanted to check up on you guys and to see that everything was okay. It's getting late, so I just wanted to ask you kids not to stay up too late, okay?" the counselor responded.

"No, Mr. Staples. We'll be going to bed in a few minutes!" Jamie replied respectfully.

"Great. Oh, before I go… Do you boys need any extra insect repellant? There are a lot of bugs out here. And considering the fact that you two are so close to the lake, I just wanted to make sure that you guys weren't being eaten alive by all the mosquitoes!"

"No, sir. I'm fine."

"I may want some repellant, Mr. Staples…" Gregory said to the counselor.

Mr. Staples handed Gregory the tube, containing the lotion which he spread out all over his arms and his legs.

"Are you sure you don't want any, Jamie?" Mr. Staples wondered.

Jamie knew that he wouldn't feel any mosquito bites. His skin was much too hard for the mosquitoes to bite, anyway. But, he didn't want to give away his secret identity, so he decided to just play along and accept some of the lotion, even though he really didn't have a need for it.

"Oh, I might as well rub some of this stuff over my arms and legs, I guess…" he chuckled, as he accepted the tube from Gregory.

"Okay. Well, I want you two to get some sleep very soon, alright?" Mr. Staples instructed them.

"Yes, sir! We'll be going to sleep right away!" Jamie responded.

"Okay! As soon as you get up, come back to the cabin so you can shower before you got on the bus to go back home!"

"Yes, sir!" Greg replied.

Mr. Staples turned and left.

"Well, let's put out the fire so we can go to bed…" Jamie said, as he stood up.

With one mighty puff, Jamie blew out the fire...

The boys crawled back into their tent, where they slipped into their sleeping bags before Gregory turned off the flashlight.

Gregory dozed off right away, falling into a deep sleep. Jamie smiled at his regular, rhythmic breathing. Jamie lay awake, staring up at the stars through the tent with his x-ray vision. He wasn't tired at all. He spent all night looking up at the stars with his marvelous telescopic vision.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 7

Jamie stood up at the crack of dawn, gently awakening Gregory by calling out his name. As soon as Greg was awake, the boys broke down the tent and rolled up the sleeping bags. They got dressed, and then the two of them hiked back to the main camp building to check in their tent and bed rolls. The returned to their cabin, snagged their toiletries, towels, bath robes and shower shoes. After showering, they dried off, returned to their cabin, changed into fresh clothing and packed their backpacks.

The boys boarded the bus around 9:00 a.m. Gregory and Jamie sat next to each other, as usual, while Wesley sat in the very back of the bus, so he could keep an eye on everything that went on in the bus.

Jamie and Gregory just played cards and read comic books, while Wesley remained quietly in the rear of the bus, keeping an eye on the two boys during the entire ride back to the city. Wes was looking ahead to their return to Metropolis. He intended to have a man-to-man talk with Gregory when they got back.

Greg and Jamie had no idea what was on Wesley's mind. They continued to enjoy each others' company, playing cards, watching the countryside outside the window and just talking and joking as they road the bus back home.

When Jamie and Gregory arrived at Jamie's house in Metropolis, they went into Jamie's bedroom, where they played a game of cards. After a few minutes, Wesley came into the room, holding a ten Dollar bill in his hand.

"Hey Jamie, can you do me a small favor?" Wesley asked his little brother.

"Sure…" Jamie replied looking up from the card game he and Greg had been playing. Gregory was sitting opposite Jamie on the floor.

"Could you go to the comic book store and pick up a few comic books for me? I have a list on this sheet of paper…" Wes instructed him, as he handed him his shopping list.

"Okay… I'll walk over there…"

"Jamie, why don't you put on your Superboy costume? You can go to the store as Superboy, if you want to…" Wes added.

Jamie immediately pulled his suit out of the closet and ran into the bathroom. Three seconds later, he came out, fully dressed as the Boy of Steel!

"Can Gregory come along?" Jamie asked his brother.

"Well, I want to talk to Greg about something. Please, go to the store by yourself, okay?" Wesley asked him. "And, go ahead and take your time. There is no hurry. Go to the comic book store as Superboy and talk to the kids who are there! I bet they will be thrilled to meet you!"

"Sure… But, what are you going to talk about? Is it a surprise?" Superboy wondered.

"Well, you can say that, yes…" Wes replied.

Superboy hesitated a little. He was curious more than anything else about what Wes wanted to talk about with Gregory. But he decided, "If it were any of my business, one off them would tell me."

"Okay. I'll be back in about thirty minutes…" Superboy said. He took the money from Wesley and stepped out onto the balcony. He leaped into the sky and flew toward the comic book store, just down the street from the Kent's townhouse.

As soon as Superboy had left and had disappeared from view, Wesley turned his attention to Gregory.

"Greg! I need to talk to you! You keep on getting my little brother in trouble, and I don't like it! This has got to stop!" Wesley said to him, in an angry tone of voice.

"Jamie is my best friend! Why, we've been friends even before he took on the role of a super hero! I'm his best friend and you know it!" Gregory responded.

"I want you to back off from spending time with Jamie! You keep on getting him into trouble and it's hurting him! It's not fair!"

"What?" Gregory responded. "You can't tell me to leave Jamie alone. I'm his best friend in school. You're just jealous because I'm his friend!"

"That's not true!"

"In fact, you're just jealous because you don't have any friends! Why don't you get some friends of your own, huh?" Gregory shot back.

"What? How can you say that?"

"You're just in your own little world! You don't talk to anyone in school. You're always alone! You need to get some friends of your own! But, you can't break up the friendship I have with your little brother! That's not fair!" Greg continued.

Wesley just stared at him in silence. He cared deeply about Jamie and it bothered him that Greg's instigating seemed to be getting Jamie in trouble so often. On the other hand, he realized that there was some truth in what Greg was saying to him.

"Look, I just want you to stop getting him into trouble! He has enough to worry about already, especially since he's a super hero! You're going to get him in trouble and then people will find out that he's Superboy! You have no idea what kind of responsibility he has, with his super powers. You got no idea what it's like, being a super hero!" Wesley protested.

"I'm not a super hero! Who knows, I might become one some day. But Jamie knows that he can always be himself when he's around me. He doesn't have to hide who he is when he's with me! You can't stop him from hanging out with me! In fact, my parents already talked to your parents, and Jamie is coming with me and my family and we're going to be in Florida all of next week!" Greg retorted.

"What?" Wes exclaimed, since he hadn't known about this.

"I'm visiting my grandma in Gulf Breeze all next week, and Jamie is coming with us! There's nothing you can do about it! I don't care how strong, how fast, or how powerful you are, but Jamie's hanging out with me and my family next week and you can't stop us!" Gregory indicated in a serious tone of voice.

Wes remained quiet, as he slowly walked up to Greg, looking down on the boy who firmly stood his ground against the African American super boy.

"I'm not so sure I agree to this arrangement, Gregory…" he said quietly. "He's my brother and I care deeply about him…"

"Just accept it, Wesley! Jamie's going with us to Florida next week!" Greg growled. "Maybe you'll have some time to quit worrying about Jamie so much, and to try to find a few friends of your own, for a change! You could use it, especially since you don't have any friends now!"

Wes just stared at Gregory, madder than he'd been in as long as he could remember.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 8

Meanwhile, Jamie was flying over Metropolis towards the comic book store, situated in a small strip center, just a few blocks away from home. He made it there less than a minute. He hadn't needed the full minute to make that short flight. He had taken his time.

The caped hero touched down on the parking lot of the store, with his long, red cape billowing behind him. Jamie slowly walked towards the entrance, knowing that people were staring at him. He just loved being Superboy, and he saw these little outings and errands as opportunities to be a kid and to meet some other kids, as Superboy. He was very popular at school, as Jamie Wilson, but he also enjoyed meeting other kids as Superboy. In fact, he had set a goal of meeting new kids as Superboy every single day!

As soon as he entered the store, he wandered over to the comic book shelf. There were several large shelves positioned along the walls and in the center of the store. He casually wandered to a one of the shelves at the center of the sales floor. He scanned the rack for the comic books on Wesley's list. He found two of them near the bottom of the rack, so he was able to retrieve them quickly.

One boy noted the caped super hero wandering around the store. At first, he doubted that this kid was the real Superboy but he was still very curious. He decided to quietly follow the caped boy from a distance. Jamie had seen that the boy was following him but, he didn't let on at first…

Superboy circled the large central display as he continued to scan the titles, until he found the third comic book that his older brother had requested. The comic was sitting on the topmost shelf.

The Boy of Steel was too short to reach his selection, even standing on tip toe. So he simply levitated, lifting off the floor and floating upward until the comic he wanted was at his eye level.

The boy, who had been following him gasped, ogle eyed!

"It's him! That's really him!" the boy cheered. "He's the real Superboy! He's flying!"

Superboy was enjoying the attention, but he played it cool! He eased himself back down to the floor and then flashed around to the other side of the large central bookcase outside little boy's view.

"Darn it! Lost him! Where did he go? I can't see him from here…" the boy mumbled to himself.

The little boy hadn't realized that Superboy had flashed to the other side of the bookshelf at super speed.

The boy continued to peer along the side of the bookcase, hoping to catch another glimpse of Superboy. When he didn't see him anymore, he began to lose hope. He was about to give up and walk away, when he felt someone tapping his right shoulder from behind.

The boy straightened out and turned around, only to gasp out loud when he saw the caped super hero standing right in front of him!

"Are you looking for me?" Superboy said with a wide grin on his face.

"Hi… Uhh… yeah…" the boy stuttered in disbelief.

"Don't be afraid. I don't bite!" Superboy grinned. "By the way, my name is Superboy. What's yours?"

"Madison" the boy responded. "I'm Madison…"

Madison was maybe ten years old. He had short, black hair and brown eyes. He was skinny and short. He just wore tennis shoes, shorts, and a basketball jersey. He also wore a baseball cap reversed on head. Madison was about three inches shorter than Jamie.

"Pleased to meet you, Madison!" Superboy said cheerfully.

Madison just stared at him, with his mouth open wide. He was amazed, to see the young hero standing before him. Madison examined the hero from head to toe, gasping at the amazing figure of the young super hero and his colorful red-and-blue costume.

"Wow… You're for REAL…" Madison said, as he traced his finger over the "S" shield, on Superboy's chest.

"Gosh, I really do hope so! Otherwise, I'd be some sort of a ghost…" Superboy laughed.

"What… What do you like to do for fun?" Madison asked him shyly.

"I like to read, fly outside, hang out with friends, and play video games!" Superboy replied. He glanced over and saw a demo TV set with a video game console hooked up to it. "Would you like to play a game with me?"

"S… Sure… I'd love to…" Madison replied in disbelief. He couldn't believe it! He was invited to play a video game with Superboy!

The two boys walked over to the console, each taking one of the controllers which were connected to the console.

"I know this game. I play it at home! Do you know how to play this?" Superboy asked Madison.

"No… I've never played it before…" Madison responded a little uncertainly.

"Don't worry! I can teach you how to play. I'll also show you a few tricks I have picked up…" Superboy instructed. They started to play.

"Just press this button on the controller to make your guy move forward. Now, here's a cool trick: Clicking this button twice will make him jump!" Superboy instructed the boy. "That is a neat little trick that very few kids know about…"

"Gee… Thanks!" Madison replied. He felt honored, to have the chance to play a video game with the famous teen super hero.

Superboy beat Madison easily, and thanked him for playing the game with him, once they were finished.

"Well, I got to go. Do you live close to here?" Superboy asked him.

"I live with my foster parents" Madison explained sadly. "My parents are divorced. My mom is always working at a restaurant and my dad is on duty in the Air Force. I'm always alone and I don't have any friends. I'm waiting to receive a mentor…"

"A mentor?" Superboy wondered.

"Yes. I'm waiting to be assigned a mentor in the Mentor's Club. The thing is, there are hundreds of other kids on the waiting list to receive mentors, and I have to wait until it's my turn to get one. Unless, someone specifically requests to become my mentor, if they mention my name when they sign up…"

"Oh, really?" Superboy pondered. "I might know somebody who could become your mentor. What is your full name?"

"My full name is Madison Johnson."

"Alright… I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, how about I fly you home?" Superboy offered the boy.

"Sure!"

Madison and Superboy stood in line at the cash register near the entrance to the store. After a few moments, Superboy paid for the three comic books he'd bought for Wesley. As soon as they walked out of the store, Superboy took Madison's hand, and the two boys lifted off, slowly flying toward Madison's house.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 9

When they landed in the front yard of Madison's foster parents' home, Superboy walked Madison up to the front door.

"Thank you so much, Superboy…" Madison said, as he opened the door.

Superboy smiled. You're more than welcome, Madison! I got to go now. See you next time, Madison…"

"Superboy?" Madison asked the caped boy sadly. "Will I ever see you again?"

Superboy walked up to the boy and rested his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Yes, you will see me again, soon… I promise! Let's shake on it, OK, Madison." They did so.

Madison grinned, as he watched Superboy's leap into the sky.

"Woah!" Madison murmured. "He's awesome!"

Finally, Madison turned around and walked into the house, closing the front door behind him.

Superboy quickly flew over to the Daily Planet building... When he spotted Clark Kent through the outside window, he gently tapped on the window.

Clark stood up and opened the window, admitting the young Superboy to fly through the window.

"Daddy… Can I become a mentor?" Superboy asked his father. "I met a kid in the comic book store, and I was wondering if I could mentor him…"

"Sure!" Clark replied, as he got behind the computer. "As a matter of fact, I got an email about mentoring foster kids just last week! Let me look it up for you…"

Clark pulled up the email message and printed it out for his son. Superboy gave him Madison Johnson's name. Clark proceeded to sign up Jamie as a mentor for the boy.

After a brief visit, Superboy leaped out the window and flew back home.

He landed on the balcony. He opened the sliding glass door and stepped into the house. He immediately raced over to his bedroom, where he overheard Wes and Greg.

"Look, Greg. You're not really such a bad kid. But, you're loud, rude, and obnoxious! And you're just way too wild. And you're endangering Jamie! You're going to get him in big trouble some day.

"That's not true! I care a lot about Jamie…" Greg retorted.

"What's going on here?" Jamie asked them. "Is this why you sent me away?"

Wesley looked at Jamie in shock.

"You two are fighting about me? Stop! Please! I don't want you guys fighting about me."

"Look, Jamie! I'm trying to look out for you! Greg has gotten you in trouble too often…" Wesley explained.

"He doesn't want us to see each other anymore!" Greg shouted, while pointing at Wesley. "He wants us to break up our friendship…"

"Stop it!" Jamie cried, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Stop it, please! Don't make me choose between my big brother and my best friend! Please! Both of you; stop!"

Both Gregory and Wesley stared at Jamie shame faced. They could see how much they were hurting him. They immediately toned down their heated exchange.

"Sorry, Jamie," Greg said, in a lower voice. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"Here! Here are the comic books…" Jamie said, as he handed the bag to Wesley.

"I'm sorry, little bro…" Wesley said, feeling deeply ashamed. "I'm sorry if I hurt you…"

"Why can't you two be friends?" Jamie wondered out loud.

"Sorry, bro… This is my fault…" Wesley said softly. "I'll try harder to be friends with Gregory."

Wesley then turned to Greg.

"I wish there was a way I could help you understand what kind of a responsibility this boy, your FRIEND, is carrying. If there was any way for you to become a super hero yourself, then you'd understand… On the other hand, I really wonder if you could handle the responsibility yourself…"

Wesley slowly walked out of Jamie's bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Jamie just stared at Gregory with a deep expression of concern on his face.

"Hey, cheer up, super dude!" Greg grinned, as he walked up to the shorter Superboy, while placing his hands on the caped boy's broad shoulders.

"We're going to the beach next week, and you're invited to come along!" Greg explained to Superboy. "We'll be visiting my grandma. She has this little store in Gulf Breeze. We'll just go swimming every day, and we'll have some fun before school starts! Doesn't that sound cool to you?"

"Thanks, Greggy!" Superboy replied. "I really love it that I can just be myself when I hang out with you. I just hope you and Wes can get along from now on. It just bothers me to see you guys arguing… It hurts me, especially when you guys are arguing over me!"

"I'll do my best to steer clear of any arguments with Wesley…" Greg assured him. "I don't want to say or do anything to bum you out. Come on; let's play a video game…"

Jamie changed out of his Superboy outfit and put on a t-shirt and shorts, before joining Greg at the video game console.

One week later, Jamie stared out the window from the back seat of the large, burgundy SUV as it sped down the highway towards the coast. Normally, he could fly the same distance within just a few minutes, if he really wanted to. But, this was an opportunity for him to be a "normal" kid for a whole week, while he spent time with Greg and his family in Gulf Breeze, Florida.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 10

Herbert and Amy Henriquez were sitting up front, while Jamie, Gregory, and Greg's little sister Carrie were sitting on the back seat of the SUV. Greg and Jamie played cards and video games to pass the time while they were driving. It would have been so easy for him to just fly down to Florida. But on this was his vacation he vowed not to wear his Superboy outfit during the trip. In fact, he had left the blue outfit with the red cape; boots and trunk at home in Metropolis! He was coming along with Greg's family to enjoy the sun, the beach, and to relax before the start of the new school year.

Greg's little sister, Carrie, was sound asleep on the back seat. That way, both boys were able to play their games, without having to worry about his little sister.

"Want to play some cards?" Greg asked his buddy.

Jamie just nodded, as Greg opened up a small box with a deck of cards. Greg shuffled the deck and dealt the cards. He and Jamie shared a small "lap table" set on the seat between them.

Greg kept track of the chips and the cards, while he and Jamie played several hands of poker. Greg was lucky and he knew how to play his cards right. In fact, he had beaten Jamie four hands in a row!

When Greg had dealt the cards for the fifth round, he noticed that Jamie was taking a little longer to decide which card he was going to put on the table. Jamie had almost run out of chips, and he was very close to losing. Greg noticed Jamie's eyes. Not only was he staring intently at the backs of the cards in Gregory's hand. There was something else.

It was Jamie's eyes. Momentarily, they had changed color from blue to bright green, before changing back to blue again! Greg had observed this transformation in Jamie's eyes before. This time, he made the connection. He realized, "He is x-raying my cards. He's cheating on me!"

Greg looked Jamie in the eye, tapped his cheek just below his right eye and then shook his head ever so slightly as he softly clucked "tch, tch, tch."

Jamie flushed bright red as he realized he'd been caught by his friend. "How did he DO that?" Jamie wondered.

To himself, Greg marveled, "He doesn't know! He doesn't realize his eyes change color from blue to green when he is in x-ray mode. Greg made a mental note to tell this to Jamie when they were by themselves. "He'll need to know that about himself. If **I** figured it out, someone else might be able to do the same thing. He'll need to be very careful with that."

Jamie was overcome with remorse. To himself he mused, "It's not much fun to lose at canasta. But it's even WORSE to get caught cheating on your friend. I know I've dropped several notches in Greggy's eyes and rightly so. I'll hafta apologize to him when we're alone. One thing's for certain. I'll NEVER use my vision power to cheat at cards again. I can't believe I did that, not only to Greggy, my FRIEND, but also to MYSELF!"

They rode in uneasy silence for a long time.

Carrie had been asleep alongside Jamie. Greg was seated on the left hand side, next to the window, Carrie on the right. Jamie has sat in the middle so he and Greg could play cards without disturbing Carrie. She stirred and then, quite suddenly, she was awake. Jamie looked over at her and smiled. "You awake now, sleepy head?" She yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she nodded. Carrie secretly had a little bit of a crush on Jamie, only one of many girls who did. He was shorter than average, but with a sturdy build that bespoke power and purpose. But beyond his handsome, athletic good looks, Jamie had a twinkle in his merry eyes that could make any little girl swoon. Carrie also had a crush on Superboy, little knowing that her two "idols" were one and the same boy.

She pulled a teen magazine, "Ingénue" out of her travel bag. Even though she was only ten, she had already begun to sport the affectations of a teenager. Greggy often teased his baby sister calling her "ten-teen."

On the cover of "Ingénue" was a photo of Superboy. He has in flight, facing the camera with a broad grin. You could not help being almost hypnotized by Jamie's big soft baby blue eyes. Carrie sighed.

"I wonder if I would ever get to meet Superboy and if he'd even WANT to meet me…"

Jamie grinned at Carrie as he answered, "You BET he would, Carrie! Cute as you are? You'd better believe it!"

As Carrie gazed at the cover of her teen girl magazine Greg laughed, "My sister Carrie, meeting Superboy. Yeah, sure! She's… Ten-TEEN! Sweet ten-teen an' never been kissed yet! Sweet ten-teen and never been kiss…"

Jamie flashed Greggy a pair of eyes, cold as ice. There was nothing "soft" in his "baby blues" just then. Greg stopped mid-sentence. As he looked quizzically back at Jamie, softly, the boy of steel uttered only one word, "enough." Greggy got the message.

Carrie had seen it all. As she looked up from her magazine into Jamie's eyes, the recognition hit her full in the face! Jamie! HE is Superboy! No WONDER I like Jamie so much. He's not "LIKE" Superboy. He IS Superboy. Rather than blurt out her discovery as perhaps most 10 year old girls might, she kept it to herself. She leaned into Jamie and lightly bussed him on the cheek. She murmured softly, "Thanks, uh, 'Jamie.'"

Jamie blushed bright red as Carrie giggled. She wasn't telling, but she couldn't resist the temptation to "nibble around the edges" of the secret.

"Your so gallant, Jamie! You remind me of Superboy!" she whispered to him.

At that, Jamie blushed even deeper red, if such were possible as Greggy registered a double take. There was brief but telling eye contact between Greg and Carrie as she glanced down at her magazine cover and back up at Jamie. Greg realized. "Oh wow, Carrie has figured it out! She KNOWS!" Carrie was not telepathic; at least not yet. But she had always been VERY perceptive. She looked into her brother's eyes, winked and placed her right index finger before her lips in a "shushing" gesture to reassure him and Jamie that she would not tell. Greggy and Jamie both sighed with relief. Jamie took Carrie's left hand with his right, gently squeezed and mouthed a silent "thank you." Carrie beamed back with a coquettish smile as she batted her long eyelashes at him. That set Jamie to blushing all over again.

About three hours had passed when they caught their first glimpse of the Gulf Coast, as they along the southern shore of Northwest Florida.

"Look over there!" Gregory cheered, pointing out the window. "There's the beach! I can't wait to go swimming, Jamie!"

"Yeah! It'll be great! The weather is so nice right now…" Jamie grinned.

"Well, I hope it stays that way, you guys!" Herb responded.

Both Jamie and Gregory looked at Herb quizzically.

"What do you mean by that, dad?" Greg asked his father.

"Well, there is a tropical storm in the Gulf right now…" Herb replied. "They were just talking about it on the radio."

Jamie and Greg stared at him, concerned.

"You mean… We might get some wind?" Greg asked.

"Yes, unless the storm stays well south of us. The weather bureau isn't sure where the storm might be headed."

"As long as it stays far away from where we'll be at, it'll be fine by me!" Jamie said.

"I hope so" Herb added. "According to the weather report, the storm has grown in size and it might head this way. It's over Cuba right now. But, they still don't know yet where the storm will make landfall after that."

"So… Does that mean we might be in for some rain?" Greg asked his dad.

"Yes. We might get more than rain from this storm, if it grows stronger…" Herb explained. "The worse case scenario would be that the storm grows into a hurricane…"

"A… A hurricane?" Jamie gasped.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 11

"Yes. A hurricane usually brings lots of rain and very hard wind gusts…"

"Uh oh…" Jamie said.

"Don't worry, Jamie!" Greg assured his best friend. "We won't get a hurricane! Don't worry! You worry too much!"

"Yeah, well… Doesn't a hurricane bring a lot of wind?" Jamie wondered out loud.

"We're not getting a hurricane!" Greg assured him firmly. "No storm is going to ruin our vacation!"

Jamie rolled his eyes and laughed.

"How do you know? The hurricane might come right over Gulf Breeze!" Jamie laughed.

Greg stared at him with an exasperated look on his face.

"Don't say that!" he hissed. "It might actually happen! If a hurricane comes here, then it will all be your fault!"

"Oh sure… Just blame it all on me!"

"Yeah! Your fault!"

Jamie just laughed at Greg's silliness.

"If a hurricane comes… Then Superboy would to fly over it and blow it away!" Carrie asserted confidently.

"Superboy can't stop a hurricane!" Jamie answered.

"I bet he could." Carrie interjected. I bet Superman or Superboy either one could stop a hurricane if they tried.

"Carrie… Nobody is strong enough to stop a hurricane!" Jamie explained to the girl. "Not even Superboy or Superman!"

"How do you know?" the little girl challenged. "Has Superboy ever even tried?"

"No. At least not that I KNOW of…" Jamie answered a little uncertainly.

"Well, I bet Superboy could blow away a hurricane using his super breath!" she announced. "I've seen him put out fires on TV just by blowing on them with his super breath!"

"I hope so, Carrie…" Jamie murmured. "I really hope so…"

Herb parked the SUV in front of a small convenience store; Greg, Jamie and Carrie immediately opened the door and jumped out.

"Ahhh! I really needed to stretch my legs," Greg sighed, as he strolled around the parking lot. Jamie quietly walked behind, laughing at his best friend's silliness. "Aren't you feeling stiff from sitting in the car for hours and hours?"

"Uhh… No, not really…" Jamie answered.

"So dad, why did we stop here?" Greg asked his father, pointing to the small convenience store. The front was glassed in and there were two large glass double doors leading inside.

Herb answered. "We're here to say hi to grandma!"

Greg looked at him with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Here? Why here?"

"Grandma owns the store, Greg!" Herb explained. "You haven't seen your grandma since you were two so you wouldn't remember! Oh! There she is now. That's her, right behind the counter."

An older, short lady stood behind the counter. Her gray hair was cut short. He specs were suspended from her neck by a silver chain and she wore a string of pearls around her neck. She was shorter than either Greg or Jamie, but she had a friendly face and big, blue eyes. She wore a white button down shirt with the logo of her store embroidered on the right pocket. The store was called "Shop at Sea".

"Hi momma!" Herb cheered, as he pushed the glass door open.

"Herb! Oh you finally made it!" his mother answered, as she quickly walked past the end of the wooden counter, so she could greet her relatives in the middle of the small store.

"Momma, you look great!" Herb grinned, as he embraced her. Herb was over a foot taller than his mother, so he completely covered the little woman with his large body. "Look, momma, here are the kids…"

Carrie and Gregory came forward. This was the first time they'd seen their grandmother since right after Carrie was born.

"Oh my, what a handsome young man you've become!" grandma grinned at Greg. "Last time I saw you, you were just a toddler!"

Greg embraced his grandmother.

"I'm so happy to see you, grandma!"

Carrie greeted her grandmother as she let go of Greg.

"Hi, grandma!" she said in a soft voice. Her grandmother had seen her right after she was born, but of course Carrie had no memory of that...

"Come here, Carrie. Come say hi to your grandma!" she grinned. "My, you're such a cute young lady! You look just like your mother!"

The two embraced briefly. When they pulled away, grandma had tears in her eyes.

Amy came up to her and hugged her as well.

"It's good to see you, Esther. You look great," Amy said.

Esther and Amy talked for a moment.

Then grandma looked up and saw Jamie.

"Oh my! I didn't realize you had another son!" Esther said to Herb.

"No, mom! This is Jamie. He's a friend of Greg's from school!" Herb smiled, as Jamie approached the short, elderly woman. Jamie noticed right away that Esther was just a few inches shorter than he! That was unusual for him, since he most often found himself the shortest in the group.

"Hi, Miss Esther!" he said, as he shook her hand.

Esther just stared at him for a moment with a very serious look on her face. Then, her face lit up with joy, as if she sensed something unusual about him.

"It is very nice to meet you, Jamie!" she said to him. "Thank you! You'll be such a big help to us all!"

Herb, Greg and Jamie stared at her with confusion. What was she talking about?

Suddenly, Amy called out for Herb, and asked him to help with a gift for grandma out of the van. This left Jamie, Carrie and Gregory alone with grandma.

"I sense great strength and power in you…" Esther said to the boy.

Jamie looked at her in shock. What was she talking about?

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 12

"I beg your pardon?" he asked her politely.

"I feel it… I… I sense it… You're not who you appears to be, my young man… You're really something, someone else…" she said.

"What… Why do you say that?" Jamie asked her. He was concerned that grandma knew his secret. But, how was that possible?

"What are you talking about, grandma?" Greg asked her.

"Looks can be deceiving; however this boy's fantastic powers cannot remain hidden for long. Soon, and very soon, a large cyclone will come, and it will become the greatest challenge you have ever faced, my dear Jamie! Be ready!" Grandma Esther exclaimed.

Both Greg and Jamie gasped out loud. How did she know Jamie's secret?

"I'm a seer, my boy…" she said, as she ran the palm of her hand through Jamie's hair. "I can feel your might, your strength, and your power… You normally wear a blue suit, with red boots and trunks, and a long, red cape! Most people know you by your other name, 'Superboy!'"

Jamie gazed at her in shock. His mouth dropped wide open. He was deeply concerned about grandma knowing his secret. Luckily, the old lady picked up on his fears, and she rested her hands on his broad shoulders to set him at ease.

"Don't worry about me telling other people about you, dear Jamie…" she whispered to the concerned boy. "I have one main rule: What is secret will remain a secret. Your hidden identity is all yours and therefore it isn't mine to reveal to others! So, rest assured, my boy."

Jamie sighed with relief!

"Thank you, grandma…" he said to her, smiling. "I'm here on vacation and I just want to hang out at the beach with Greg. I'm not here to do any super stuff. I just want to swim and relax. In fact, I left my suit at home! I don't even have it with me!"

Grandma looked hard at him for a moment, until she suddenly became very serious.

"A hero doesn't need to wear a suit and a cape in order to do great things, Jamie. It's not the suit that makes you into a hero, but your heart!" she said to him. "When the time comes to do heroic things, you will act accordingly, regardless of what you're wearing…"

"Oh…" Jamie replied, not knowing what else to say. Grandma had figured out everything about him, without having to be told!

"Don't be so alarmed, my young super hero!" grandma said. "You should be used to being around people who can read your thoughts! After all, we both know your older brother is psychic."

"Y-Y-Yeah… Wesley is psychic… Just like you!" Jamie responded.

"Gosh, grandma…" Greg said proudly. "I didn't know you were psychic!"

"Psychic abilities help me to see things about other people that I don't know. Not only that, but it often reveals things to me about other people, that even those people don't know about themselves! I can sense something about you right now, Gregory… It's something you may not even be aware of…"

"What do you mean by that, grandma?" Greg wondered out loud.

"Your life will experience a dramatic change in the near future. Don't worry, change is good! Something will happen to you, and your friend will have everything to do with it!" she said, as she pointed to Jamie with her finger.

"Oh wow… I guess I'd better be careful!" Greg concluded, upon hearing grandma's revelation.

"Don't worry, dear… This change will happen so fast, it will be like a flash of lightning! Don't wait for the change to happen. Just accept it, when it does…"

She spoke to Jamie. "When the change comes to Greg, he will need you more than he ever has before; you and your brother and your father, all three! Please watch out for my grandson. And you will come to lean on him as well. You two boys are very close now. But circumstances will bring you even closer together. Very soon, you and Greg will come to be as close to each other as you and your brother are to one another. Beyond this, I cannot tell you any more. But I know all this is coming and it coming very soon!"

"Thanks, grandma!" Greg grinned, speaking for himself and Jamie. He decided not to think about what would happen in the future. She'd said it would be a good change, and that was all that really mattered to him.

"Boys! Come over here, to the van! We're going to check in at the hotel!" Amy shouted from the van. Carrie had already joined her in the car, while the boys were talking to grandma.

Jamie and Greg said goodbye to grandma, and they walked out the store. They got back into the van...

The van drove off to the small hotel just a few streets away. The hotel was within walking distance from the beach where grandma's shop was located. The boys had already decided that they would come back to her store, as soon as they had checked in to the hotel.

About twenty minutes later, Jamie and Greg had checked in to the hotel and they had received their room key. They placed their luggage in the room and they immediately changed into their swimming trunks and sandals! They snatched up their beach towels, dashed out of the hotel lobby and headed straight for Grandma's store. They were ready to go for a swim!

It didn't take long at all for the boys to get back to the store. They both entered the shop and greeted Grandma briefly, before they headed back out again and made their way out to the sandy beach.

This trip was a special treat for Jamie. Not only could he spend time with his best friend, but this was going to be his last opportunity to go on a trip like this, before the start of fall semester at school. Although he missed Wesley, Lois and Clark, he was delighted to be able to spend this time with his best friend, Greg.

The boys ran straight for the water and waded in. Once they got in about waist deep, they dove headfirst into the surf!

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 13

Jamie and Greg just played in the water for the rest of the afternoon. They repeatedly jumped off the long, wooden pier, and they swam around the shallow water.

At one point, Jamie took a deep breath and went underwater. Greg stayed at the surface, but he became concerned when Jamie didn't come back to the surface after almost a whole minute. Greg looked around and he started calling out his name, until Jamie's head surfaced several yards away.

"Dude! Where were you? You scared me!" Greg complained to him.

"Why? What's wrong?" Jamie asked him. Jamie swam closer to Greg, and stopped when he was right in front of him.

"You went underwater and I didn't see you for awhile! What were you doing down there?"

"I was flying! What's wrong with that?" Jamie explained to him.

"Flying? You fly in the water?"

"Sure! Just because I can fly through the air doesn't mean that I can't fly through water!" Jamie chuckled.

Greg just rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you just swim, like everybody else?" he laughed.

"It's faster to fly than to swim, Greggy! Some day, you'll have powers of your own, and then you'll understand and you'll do the exact same thing!" Jamie noted with a smile.

"Oooh boy…" Greg pondered. "I understand, Superboy!"

Jamie stared at him perturbed.

"Hey! I'm not going to be Superboy all this week! I'm on vacation! I'm just going to swim, eat, sleep, and relax…"

"You're not gonna be Superboy? You just WERE. You just said you were 'flying,' not 'swimming' underwater." Greg said sarcastically. "Only Superboy can do that! Remember?"

"Oh, come on… I'll race you to the other end of the beach!" Jamie cheered, as he pointed to the end of the beach.

Both boys swam the whole length of the beach, until it began to get dark. Then they left the water and strolled back to the hotel to meet Greg's parents and sister. They changed into dry shorts and t-shirts.

Afterwards, the boys decided to go for a stroll on the beach. Herb had asked Greg to watch Carrie, while they went to visit someone. Greg, Jamie and Carrie were just walking along the beach, collecting sea shells and throwing rocks into the crashing waves.

At one point, both Jamie and Greg decided to lie down in the sand. They just stared at the stars in the sky, while Carrie tried to build a small sand castle. Jamie had turned around and he was laying flat on his stomach.

A gentle breeze kicked up. Carrie's hat blow off and landed in the surf.

"Oh no," she exclaimed. "Well there goes my hat. If I had my swim suit on I'd go after it but I don't want to get wet in these clothes.

Greg answered, "It's OK, Carrie. I'll wade in and get it."

"No, Greggy! You'll just get yourself all wet and you might get a cold. It's not worth that. Just let it go." Carrie replied.

"I'll get it…" Jamie suggested much to Greg's relief.

Carrie cheerfully walked over to Jamie and then sat on his back.

"Get up, horsy!" she said playfully. She had hoped for Jamie to stand up and to give her a ride on his shoulders. She got more than she bargained for, when Jamie suddenly and slowly began to levitate above the sand.

"Hey! What… What are you doing? We're flying!" she gasped, when she noticed her feet dangling in mid air, while Jamie was still floating flat on his stomach. "How… How did you do that?"

"Like you figured out in the car, Carrie." Jamie replied. "I'm Superboy!"

"So, 'Superboy,' can… can you fetch my hat?" she asked him cautiously.

"Yep! Just grab hold of my shoulders, Carrie! You and I going for little a little ride!" Jamie warned her, as he slowly lifted off the beach, heading out over the water towards the straw hat. Jamie hovered directly above the hat, retrieving it and handed it to Carrie who set it back on her head.

"Thank you, Super-Jamie!" she cheered.

Jamie slowly flew back to shore, allowing his body to land in the sand, right next to the spot was Greg was sitting. He was patiently waiting for Jamie to return with his little sister, who was happily sitting on his back. When Jamie landed, Carrie got up and stood right in front of him.

"The real Superboy is really strong!" she pondered. "So, if you really are Superboy, then you must have big muscles!"

Jamie stood up and faced the little girl. He reached down with both hands, and pulled the bottom of his t-shirt up and over his head, revealing his well muscled body.

Carrie just gasped when she saw his upper body, which resembled more the torso of a gymnast or a young bodybuilder than that of a twelve year-old kid!

"Wow! How did your muscles get so big?" the little girl wondered, while she stared at the incredibly muscular boy in complete awe.

"My powers make me really heavy and muscular" he grinned. "That's why I'm strong enough to lift really heavy things!"

"So… Am I supposed to call you 'Superboy' or 'Jamie'?" she asked the super kid.

"You only call me 'Superboy' when you see me wearing a blue suit and my cape, okay?" he asked her. "And, don't tell anybody else! It's a secret!"

Carrie just returned a huge grin on her face, as she ran towards Jamie and leaped in his arms.

"I'm gonna call you 'Super-Jamie' from now on!" she cheered, as Jamie held her in his arms.

"And I'm gonna call you my little sister Carrie from now on!" he replied happily.

The three kids strolled along the shore until Amy called them to come back to the room so that they could get ready to go to bed.

Since the Henriquez family was now traveling with three kids, Herb and Amy decided to rent two small rooms at the motel where they were staying at, so that the kids would have their own room. Carrie decided to sleep with her parents for awhile, while Jamie and Gregory shared another room with two beds.

The boys stayed awake watching a movie on television. When Gregory eventually dozed off, Jamie turned off the TV and the lights so his friend's sleep would not be disturbed. Jamie didn't need any sleep at all. He just lay awake in bed, thinking about the events of the day.

Suddenly, he began to pick up on faint voices, which were coming from the room right next door to the one where Jamie and Greg were sleeping in. He picked up on words like "storm" and "winds" and "heavy rain". This stoked his curiosity. He focused his super hearing on the room next door. He realized that the couple in the next room next door was watching the late-night news on TV.

He focused his supervision through the wall onto the TV screen next door. A weatherman was speaking. Behind him, on screen was a map of Florida and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

"Tropical storm number seven has formed off the Island chain of the Bahamas and is slowly moving in the west-north-west direction at 11 miles per hour." The announcer said. "The storm has maximum sustained winds up to sixty miles per hour, making it very close to a category one hurricane."

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 14

"A hurricane?" Jamie gasped.

"The storm is expected to strengthen considerably, before making landfall off the southern end of the Florida Keys. In the meantime, all residents of the Florida Keys have been issued a mandatory evacuation order. Residents are boarding up their homes and securing all outdoor items, in preparation for the oncoming storm, which could strengthen into a hurricane by the time it makes landfall in the next two days…"

"Wow…" Jamie thought to himself. "I sure hope it doesn't come here…"

"The National Weather Service has forecast that storm will pass over the Florida Keys before moving more northward, possibly making a second landfall near the Florida-Alabama border. Please stay tuned and continue watching the weather reports daily as forecasters are able to pinpoint the most likely area of second landfall. At present the Florida panhandle lies within the 'cone of probability' and could experience hurricane force winds within in the next four days."

"Yikes! We're in the Panhandle right now!" Jamie pondered out loud. "I'd better tell Mister Herb and Miss Amy in the morning…"

Jamie continued to "watch" TV until the man in the room turned it off to go to sleep. He thought about it for the moment, wishing he could see more. Then he got an idea. He wanted to see for himself if the people in the Florida Keys were alright.

He sat up in his bed for the moment. He didn't have his suit and cape with him. But it was dark outside, and he figured that nobody would see him. He quietly got up from his bed and put on a tank top and a pair of shorts. He was barefoot, but that didn't bother him. He missed wearing his suit and cape, and he almost considered flying to Metropolis to get it. But, he remembered his decision that he didn't want to be "Superboy" all that week, because he was on vacation!

"I'm going to fly over there, just to take a look and get an idea what it's like to be in a hurricane…" he thought to himself, as he quietly walked to the door.

He opened the door and walked out of the room, closing it gently behind him so he wouldn't wake Gregory.

As soon as he got outside, he extended his arms towards the sky and started to lift off. He ascended rapidly, until the small motel was nothing but a miniature building below him. He then headed south south-east, towards the Florida Keys.

It took the super kid only a few minutes to fly to the Keys. He noticed how the wind began to pick up, as he flew closer to the island chain. Powerful wind gusts hammered his body as he flew over the water, and he was finally drenched by the pouring rain. Sheets of rain came down over the water, as he approached the keys. The sky was completely covered with dark, thick clouds, and the howling wind was blowing in his ears.

"Wow… Is this a hurricane?" he wondered, as he found himself getting into worse weather as he approached the Keys.

Jamie descended to the ground where he saw several small houses. There was one major street that ran through all the islands. The street signs had number 1 on them.

The rain was coming down very hard! The wind was furious, and Jamie had to resort to his super vision in order to see clearly. He was drenched by the hard, heavy rain, as he scanned the area. Suddenly, he heard a noise. He heard faint voices, coming from one of the bridges connecting two of the islands.

He leaped in the air and flew toward the bridge. An SUV was stranded on the bridge, just a few yards away from the point where a section of the structure had collapsed! The powerful winds and waves had caused one end of the bridge to collapse!

"Help, somebody! Help us!" a lady cried, as she sat in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

The span immediately in front of her SUV had collapsed before her, trapping her on the bridge. The entire structure was swaying precariously, due to the force of the ocean. Wave after wave of water smashed into the base of the support pillars. The structure was already weakened and was clearly about to collapse under the vehicle. The lady who had cried for help was not alone! There was also a young boy with her, presumably the lady's son.

"Oh, no!" Jamie said to himself, as he flew over the scene. "That lady and the boy are trapped in their car. They're stuck and the bridge is about to give way!"

A mighty wave roared against the pillar, causing the entire bridge to shift. The lady and the boy screamed!

"David" the lady said to the boy "No matter what happens to us today… I love you…"

"I'm scared, mom! Get us out of here!" was the only thing that came to his mind, as tears rolled down his face. He knew that he and his mom were lost.

Suddenly, the SUV began to rise up in the air, completely on its own!

"What… What's happening?" the lady yelled.

The SUV seemed to levitate as if by magic in mid air, flying over the broken section of the bridge.

"Mom! The wind has got us! We're gonna die!" the boy screamed.

Jamie flew the SUV to the far end of the bridge and gently set it down on the road. Just as Jamie set the vehicle down, the bridge collapsed behind him, tumbling into the roiling tempest with a thunderous crash. Steel and concrete whined as the entire structure tumbled into the raging waters. The hurricane had completely wiped out the bridge without leaving a visible trace; road spans, support columns; everything!

After Jamie had set the SUV down, he flew over to the driver's side of the car. He opened the door, to see if everyone was alright.

"Is everybody okay?" the curious boy asked the lady and the boy, who was sitting next to her.

"Yes… We… We're alright…" the lady stuttered. "But… Who… Who are you?"

"I… uhh…" Jamie pondered. He wasn't wearing his blue suit. What should he say?

"I'm Superboy… I'm just not wearing my suit right now. I just wanted to be sure everybody was alright…"

"Thank you, Superboy…" the lady said to him.

"You're Superboy?" the boy exclaimed out of surprise. "Wow!"

"Yeah… That's me! I saw you stuck on the bridge! Now don't worry, you're both gonna be just fine. I'm gonna fly you up north out of the storm. I'll set you down in a safe place. Just make sure you both buckle up."

"Yes! Thank you! Thank you very, very much!"

Jamie hefted the SUV onto his back and lifted off heading north. He flew well clear of the storm, making his way to just south of Coral Gables. He set the SUV down just outside of town on an empty stretch of US Highway 1. The weather was still nasty, even this far north, but far from dangerous. He check on the lady and her son one more time and after the lady assured him they were both OK and thanking him one more time, he lifted off and headed back to the Florida panhandle.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 15

Several minutes later, he arrived back at the motel in Gulf Breeze.

Jamie tried to remain as quiet as possible, as he opened the door and slipped back into the room. As soon as he slid into his bed, he realized that someone was in his bed!

"Hey! Who…? Carrie?" he whispered, when he recognized the girl.

"What are you doing up at this hour? And, what were you doing in our room?" Jamie asked her.

"I couldn't sleep. My parents were sound asleep, and I wanted to come over here to see if you guys were awake. When I came into the room, I saw that you were gone. Now, what were you doing out, so late in the night?" she asked him.

Jamie let out a deep sigh.

"Come on, Jamie. Tell me!" she insisted.

"I was outside, flying around…"

"I can tell" the little girl giggled. "You're soaking wet!"

"I flew down to the Florida Keys. That's where that hurricane is right now." Jamie responded gravely. "One of the bridges between the islands was about to cave in, and there was a mother and her son, trapped in their SUV. They were trapped on that bridge. They were stuck out there and I had to them. I barely made it. As soon as I got them off, the bridge went down."

"A hurricane? At the Florida Keys?" she pondered. "How far away is that from here?"

"It's pretty far… Don't worry, Carrie… I don't think…" Jamie said to her.

Jamie froze when he heard a slight moan coming from Greg's bed. The boy turned on his back, and then lifted his head.

"Carrie! What are you doing in here? Go to your room!" he snapped at her.

The Gregory turned to face Jamie. He saw that the super kid was completely drenched.

"What's going on? Why are you awake? How come you're standing in the hotel room, dripping water all over the place?" Gregory asked his best friend.

"I couldn't sleep. I could hear the news from the TV in the next room. They had the news on and they were talking about the hurricane. So I decided to fly down to the Florida Keys to check it out. And it's a good thing I did. Like I was telling Carrie, there was a lady and her son. They were trapped on one of the bridges between the islands and the bridge was about to give way. I barely got them off in time." Jamie explained to him.

Jamie slowly pulled the wet t-shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor.

"Wow… You're a muscle boy!" Carrie grinned.

"I bet you're all pumped up now, huh, Superboy?" Greg laughed out loud. "You flew to the keys, you lifted an SUV to safety, and you flew all the way back…"

"Yeah…" Jamie grinned, as he stooped down to get a dry t-shirt out of his suitcase. "That hurricane was nasty! The winds were blowing and it was pouring rain! It was rough out there…"

"I hope it doesn't come here! A hurricane will ruin our vacation!" Greg said.

"If a hurricane were to come here then it would ruin a lot more than just our vacation, you guys…" Jamie said, in a serious tone of voice. "A hurricane could level this place!"

Carrie suddenly turned to face her older brother. Her face clouded with worry.

"A hurricane isn't coming here, is it?" she asked him. "I mean, what would we do, if a hurricane were to come here?"

"I… I don't know…" Greg whispered. "I guess I'll ask dad in the morning…"

After a few more minutes, Carrie returned to her room. Jamie took a quick shower, dried himself off, got dressed with some dry clothes, and then crawled back into bed.

When morning came, both boys showered and got dressed to go to the beach. Greg briefly visited his parents' room, and his father had asked him to wait for them in the small coffee shop just off the lobby of the hotel. Greg's parents finally arrived with Carrie, and the group ordered breakfast. Jamie ordered a bagel for breakfast, while Greg and Carrie ordered pancakes. They were watching TV while as they ate, all attention focused on the weather report.

"The forecast calls for clear skies and the high around 92 degrees, lows in the mid 80's. There is a twenty percent chance of evening thunderstorms. Currently, Tropical Storm Gregory is churning away in the Gulf, heading North North-west at thirteen miles per hour. The storm has maximum sustained winds of sixty-six miles per hour, bringing it dangerously close to a Category One Hurricane. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the western Florida panhandle, extending as far west as New Orleans, Louisiana with a tropical storm watch extending west to Vermillion Bay, Louisiana. Please follow the weather reports closely, for further updates…" the announcer said.

"No way! Is that thing coming here?" Greg exclaimed. "Oh, no!"

"Ha!" Carrie chuckled. "Hey, Greg, they named the storm after you!"

"Yeah, Greggy!" Jamie teased. "I guess somebody knew you were going to be here!"

"Guys, this is serious. We may need to evacuate…" Herb said calmly. "I'll go to the store and stock up on some batteries, a flashlight, drinking water, and non-perishable food. A hurricane is serious business!"

"What do you mean, daddy?" Carrie asked her father. "What do we do if we have to evacuate?"

"We may need to take grandma and stay at a shelter for a few days…" Herb responded.

"Well, I guess we're lucky we have you here with us" Greg chuckled, as he turned to face Jamie. "You can help us in case a hurricane came here, right?"

"Well, I really don't know how I can be of much help!" Jamie shrugged. "A hurricane is huge! I can't stop a storm that big! I'm not really sure what I could do!"

Suddenly, the morning program on TV was interrupted, when the screen turned black. The word "Special Report" appeared over the screen in red letters. An announcer appeared on the screen. He was standing in front of a map of the Gulf coast. There was a satellite image of a large spiral of clouds on the screen over the Gulf coast just northwest of the Florida Keys.

"A hurricane warning is in effect for Escambia County. Hurricane conditions are expected in the next thirty-six hours. Hurricane Gregory is moving North-North-West at nine miles per hour, with maximum sustaining winds of one-hundred miles per hour, making it a Category Two Hurricane. All efforts must be made to protect life and property. Again, a Hurricane Warning is in effect for Escambia County…"

"Category Two?" Greg asked his father. "What does that mean?"

Jamie continued to eat his bagel, as he, Carrie and Greg stared at Herb and waited for his answer.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 16

"The category numbers come from a special scale that measures the wind strength of the hurricane. The scale is called the 'Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale', and it uses the numbers from 1 to 5 to express the intensity of the hurricane" Herb began to explain to the three kids.

"So, what does it mean, if the storm that's coming here is a 'Category Two' hurricane?" Jamie asked Herb.

"Any tropical weather system with sustained winds over seventy-four miles per hour is categorized as a hurricane. Storms with weaker winds are considered tropical storms." Herb continued. "A category one hurricane has winds between 74 and 95 miles per hour. A hurricane like this can cause minimal damage to structures, but it can cause trees and power lines to fall down."

"If 'category one' means that the hurricane is the weakest, then what number is given to the strongest?" Greg asked his dad.

"The strongest storm is a category five hurricane, which can have winds of 155 miles per hour, or more! This is the most destructive type of storm. The winds are so strong, that it may cause significant damage to roofs of homes or buildings. Doors and windows can be blown out. And complete structures can even collapse due to the powerful winds!" Herb replied calmly. And any hurricane can also spawn tornados.

"So, what happens now? What are we going to do, if a hurricane comes here?" Jamie asked Herb.

"We'll need to move to a shelter, which may be several miles away from here, and further from the coast. A hurricane is usually at its strongest over the ocean, because it is fueled by warm water. Once the eye of the storm makes landfall, it can cause a lot of damage! We'll need to get out of here…"

"A shelter?" Carrie cried. "I don't want to go to a shelter!"

"We can't stay here, if a hurricane comes!" Greg explained his little sister. "We could get killed if we tried to stay here!"

"The Red Cross will open up shelters. They'll be using sports arenas, schools, or other large buildings. We may need to go to a shelter. I'll know for sure by this afternoon. It all depends on whether or not the hurricane will come here …" Herb said to them.

Greg quietly turned to look at Jamie.

"Do you hear that?" he whispered to his buddy. "You gotta do something, Supy!"

"Like what?" Jamie asked. "What do you expect me to do to a hurricane? Blow it away? Not a chance!"

"Can't you fly through it? Maybe you can break it up or something?"

"Are you nuts? Do you know how big a hurricane is? I flew through the hurricane this morning, and the winds were really strong! And it was just a category one storm. It's a lot stronger now!" Jamie replied.

"There's gotta be something you can do!" Greg said in frustration.

"Greg! If a hurricane came here, I'd try my best to save as many people as I could. But that's all I could do! Even I couldn't stop a hurricane." Jamie whispered back.

"I want you boys to stay around here. Amy and I are going to help grandma to board up her store. We're going to get canned food, bottled drinking water, batteries, and some other things, just in case." Herb explained to the boys.

Afterwards, Herb and Amy took Carrie and they went to help out grandma, while Jamie and Greg stayed around the beach by the motel.

"This is going to pose a problem, if we're going to be stuck in some shelter! How are you going to help the people who are in need, if we're inside of a shelter?" Greg asked Jamie.

"Greggy… I'm going to need your help! You're going to have to cover for me. I brought my super-rings along, so you'll be able to give me a hand. Other than that, we're just going to have to wait and see what happens!" Jamie said in a serious tone.

The boys spent the rest of the morning walking along the beach, swimming and collecting sea shells. They strolled out onto the pier, overlooking the Gulf. They had decided to make the best of the time they had left before their vacation could be cut short by the oncoming hurricane…

That evening, while the boys were in their motel room, playing video games, Jamie was startled when he suddenly heard a familiar voice, ringing inside his mind!

"Jamie… Meet me on the roof of the hotel… I need to talk to you…" the voice said.

Jamie immediately recognized the "voice" as Wesley's. He told Greg that he had to go outside for a few moments. He got up and walked out the door, leapt into the air and ascended to the roof. There he found his brother Wesley waiting for him.

"Hey, bro… You do know a hurricane is headed this way, don't you?" Wes asked his little brother, who had just landed in front of him.

"Yeah, we heard the news. We're probably going to leave here early tomorrow morning!"

"Jamie! This is serious! A hurricane is extremely dangerous! You need to stay with Greggy and his family, and you need to protect them!" Wes told him.

Jamie sighed deeply.

"I know. I'm just feeling a bit nervous about this whole thing. I'm actually feeling a little scared! I was flying through the hurricane this morning, when it was over the Florida Keys, and it was nasty!" Jamie told him. "Part of me just kinda wants to go home…"

"Jamie!" Wes said. "You can't come home now. You are Superboy and these people need you!"

"I know…" he sighed. "I didn't say I WOULD go home. Of course I wouldn't. But what should I do about this hurricane, Wes?"

"What you should do is jut stick it out and do what you can. All you can do is all you can do. Just do your best and try to take care of Greggy and his family."

"Well… Can you bring me my costume and cape?" Jamie asked him.

"Look, Jamie… I'll come back tomorrow. If you're not here, then I'll find you. I'll bring your costume, but I don't think you'll need it…" Wes replied. "For one thing, if you have to stay in a shelter, you surely can't change into Superboy in there!"

"But, how can I help the people then?" Jamie asked, spreading out his arms. "I just can't sit back and watch while a hurricane rips this place apart! People might get killed!"

"I know that, Jamie!" Wes said. "I'm not saying you should just sit back. If you see people in need, then go and help them!"

"How can I help them if I don't have my cape?" Jamie asked him.

"Jamie…" Wesley replied calmly, as he took a step closer to his little brother. He noticed that his brother was clearly feeling upset. "Help whoever you can, okay? Just because you're not wearing your costume, that doesn't mean you can't help people who are in danger."

Jamie let out a deep sigh, as he bowed his head and stared at the ground.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 17

"Hey, it'll be alright! Just stay here with them! I'll be back tomorrow, okay?" Wes assured him.

Jamie and Wesley embraced one another for a moment. When they pulled away, Wesley noticed that Jamie wiped a tear from his face.

"Thanks, Wes…"

"You'll do fine, Jamie. Just do your best. "I'll be back tomorrow to see how you're doing, okay?"

Jamie just nodded, when Wesley turned around and flew away. He was gone in a flash. Jamie sighed deeply, before he walked to the edge of the roof. He then leapt to the ground below and returned to the hotel room. He entered the room and crawled quietly in bed so as not to awaken Gregory.

Gregory woke up very early that morning. He and Jamie strolled around the area where the hotel was located. They expected to load up and leave at any time.

As they strolled down one of the streets, they came across a high school. The gate to the schoolyard was open, so the boys entered through it, and wandered around the school grounds. The large athletic field caught their eye, so the walked around the softball field, which bordered on the football-field, with only a chain link fence dividing the two fields.

"Gosh, I wish I would've brought my football with me…" Greg said, while feeling a little annoyed by his own forgetfulness. "I left it in the room…"

"I'll go get it for you, if you want…" Jamie offered him cheerfully.

Greg turned to face his buddy, realizing that Jamie could retrieve the ball in no time.

"Sure, go ahead and get the…" Greg began to say, until he noticed that Jamie had disappeared into thin air.

Greg turned to face the goal post at the end of the football field, when he suddenly heard a "swoosh" sound, followed by a gust of wind.

Jamie had materialized right besides Greg, after he returned from the hotel room. He had raced to the hotel to get the ball at super speed!

"Here you go…" Jamie grinned, as he handed him the old, worn, leather football.

"Thanks, Supy…" Greg laughed, as he walked to the five-yard line, before turning to face Jamie, still standing in the end zone.

Without a word, he tossed the ball to Jamie, who caught it by holding both hands right before his body, with the knees just slightly bent. Jamie then straightened out and raised his arm behind his head, so he could toss the ball back to his best friend.

"Hey! Try throwing a touchdown pass to the other end zone!" Greg challenged his buddy.

"Oh… sure…" Jamie said, as he started to run towards the other end zone. He wasn't moving at super speed, so Greg could see what he was doing.

"No, no, no!" Greg shouted to him. "Throw the ball from the end zone! Don't run it!"

Jamie stopped and looked at him in shock, while holding the football with both hands, before his chest.

"You mean… You want me to throw the ball from this end zone to the other one?"

"Yeah! That's one-hundred yards! C'mon; you can throw that far! Shoot, you could have the ball into low Earth orbit if you wanted to!"

"Well, I can try…." Jamie said, as he held the ball in his right hand, with his fingers resting on the laces.

Jamie extended his arm fully, pulling it behind his shoulders as far as possible. He judged the distance to the end zone, estimating how much force was needed in order to hurl the ball to the end zone on the opposite side of the field. He then flung the ball into the air!

Greg just stood there, staring at the sky as he followed the spinning football with his eyes. When he turned to look at Jamie, he noticed that the boy had disappeared again.

"Hey! Where did he go?" Greg wondered.

Suddenly, a figure appeared standing in the other end zone, with both arms extended before him. The figure caught the football, completing a perfect, one-hundred-yard pass! Jamie then ran back to the other end zone to rejoin Greg.

"I caught my own touchdown pass! Yay!" Jamie cheered, as soon as he arrived back at the spot where Greg was standing.

"Only you, Jamie…" Greg laughed, while he rolled his eyes. "Only you…"

Greg and Jamie tossed the football back and forth. But the good weather didn't last long, since grey clouds were slowly beginning to cover the sky. The winds picked up, and the temperature dropped a bit.

"Oh man… I guess we're in for some rain…" Greg complained, when he felt the first raindrops on his forehead.

"Here, Greggy! Hold my hand!" Jamie ordered. "I'll fly us back to the hotel, before we both get soaked by the rain!"

Jamie held on to Greg's hand, allowing his power to flow through the boy, so that they could run home at super speed! Within seconds, both boys arrived at the door of the room, just as torrential down pour began. There was an overhead awning protecting the entrance to their room keeping the two boys dry.

"Just in time, Supy!" Greg laughed, as he gazed out at the hotel parking. "Boy, it's coming down hard and it doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon…"

"Well, we can stay inside and just play video games…" Jamie shrugged. This was definitely weather to stay indoors in. "It's no fun to go swimming in the pouring rain!"

"I guess not…" Greg said, as he unlocked the door with the small, plastic key card. The card slid into a narrow slot, unlocking the hotel room door.

The boys entered the room and turned on the TV. They enjoyed a few minutes of playing video games, until they heard a knock on the door.

Greg got up and answered the door. It was his father, Herb. He stood at the door alongside a deputy sheriff.

"Well howdy, boys, the Deputy said to them. He was a tall, muscular man, with a light brown uniform shirt and slacks. He had a star embroidered on his shirt, with the small, red letters spelling the words 'Escambia County Sherriff's Department' above the right hand breast pocket of his uniform shirt.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 18

"I came to let you know that we have received evacuation orders from the Mayor's office. I strongly advise all of you to pack your bags and to leave the area. There are shelters located off Interstate 10 throughout Santa Rosa County and Washington County. We're under a hurricane warning. We expect hurricane force winds within the next thirty-six hours. If you decide to remain here, then I'll need you to fill out some forms. Let me warn you that we're expecting a Category Three hurricane to come over this area within the next few days. Are there any questions?"

"My mother lives here, and we have one of Gregory's classmates traveling with us" Herb said to the Deputy, while pointing at Jamie. "So, where could we go? What's the nearest shelter?"

"You may want to go to Washington County. There is a shelter at Chipley High School. That is probably the easiest one to find. But, I would definitely not recommend your staying here!"

Herb looked up at the sky, disappointed. Then he turned to Greg and Jamie.

"Alright, boys… Pack your things and get into the van… We're leaving…" he sighed. Herb then turned towards the Deputy. "Thanks for the warning, officer…"

The deputy got into his car and drove away. Several other guests were hauling their luggage out of their rooms. Three other cars were already leaving the area. The hotel was emptying out. The boys realized that they would be among the last to leave the hotel.

"This really stinks, Jamie…" Greg complained, as he closed the zipper on his soft bag. "This weather is going to ruin our vacation. I'm really not looking forward to the shelter at all!"

"Well… What else could we do?" Jamie wondered.

Greg didn't have time to respond. Herb had opened the door to the room, and motioned to the boys that they had to hurry up.

"Come on, guys! Let's go! We need to evacuate!" he ordered them.

The boys carried their soft bags and closed the door to their room. They dropped off the keys at the front desk and made their way to the van. Herb then started the engine and headed the van towards the main road, which led to the highway.

"Goodbye, Gulf Breeze…" Carrie said sadly. She was staring out the window of the van, looking at the small buildings which were standing along the side of the road. "I hope you'll still be standing, after the hurricane passes through here…"

The boys were sitting in the back gazing out the window. It was pouring; the streets had started to flood. There was water everywhere!

"Where are we going?" Greg asked his father.

"We're going to pick up grandma. Then, we'll head east of here, probably Washington County. We'll just spend a few days at the shelter there." Herb replied. He wasn't happy about the situation, but he figured this was the best thing to do.

"Why can't we just go back to Metropolis, daddy?" Carrie asked him.

"I don't want to leave grandma in the shelter by herself and she wouldn't agree to come with us to Metropolis. She wants to get back to Gulf Breeze as soon as the storm passes. So, we'll just spend a few days in the shelter with her."

"That does it! Our vacation's ruined! All thanks to this stupid hurricane!" Greg whined.

"That hurricane is named after you!" Carrie teased.

"Shut up, Carrie!" Greg snapped back at his little sister.

"Greg! Be nice to your sister!" Amy said.

Greg folded his arms before him, as he stared out the window.

"Hey…" Jamie said to him, quietly. "Don't worry. It'll work out."

They drove to the store, where Herb got out and helped his mother carry her bag to the van. Grandma got into the van and sat next to Carrie. They then drove off to the highway before they headed east, towards Washington County.

"Stupid hurricane…" Greg grumbled. "I hate hurricanes!"

"Sssshhhhh…" Jamie whispered to him.

The boys just sat quietly, as they waited to arrive at the hurricane shelter, about ninety miles away.

Everyone remained quiet when the announcer read the weather report on the radio, during the ninety-minute drive to the shelter in Chipley.

"Hurricane Gregory has strengthened and is now moving over the gulf at eleven miles per hour. The storm has maximum sustained winds of one-hundred-and-twenty miles per hour, making it a very dangerous hurricane! All efforts to protect life and property should be rushed to completion!" the announcer read.

"Wow… I can't believe this is really happening to us on our vacation…" Greg mumbled, as he stared out the window of the SUV.

All three of the kids were quiet. Even Jamie felt uneasy about the situation. From his previous encounter with the hurricane, he knew about the hard rain and the strong winds. It had been no fun at all flying through the storm, not even for the little super boy.

"A Hurricane warning is in effect for the western Florida panhandle, and the coastal areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. An evacuation order has been issued for Escambia County, where forecasters have determined the eye of the hurricane is most likely to make landfall. This area includes communities of Pensacola, Navarre, and Gulf Breeze. Gregory is expected to make landfall on Thursday morning and it has the potential for causing significant damage to properties in coastal areas. This is a category Three hurricane, and must be taken very seriously" the announcer continued.

"Are we there yet?" Carrie asked her father.

"Yes, we're just a few miles away from Chipley. We'll be there in a few minutes…" Herb assured his daughter.

"Look at that weather…" Greg complained. "I wish I had the power to control the weather… Then, I would make this storm disappear completely!"

Jamie just giggled for a moment. But Greg was very serious.

"Nobody can do that!" Jamie replied. "It's impossible to control the weather!"

"Yeah, maybe that's just as impossible as a kid who can to fly!" Greg retorted.

Carrie's mouth dropped wide open in shock, and Jamie noticed it. But, Jamie just smiled, and returned a wink to the wide-eyed girl.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 19

"I'm bored! Why don't we sing a song that I learned in school?" Carrie suggested.

"Oh, please…" Greg protested, as he rolled his eyes upward. "Don't start singing again… You'll shatter all the windows!"

Carrie just ignored Greg's remark.

"Let's sing this song. Normally, you sing this when riding the school bus. Mom and dad are in the front, and we're in the back! So, we are the back of the bus…" Carrie explained to the boys.

"This isn't a bus, Carrie" Greg pointed out. "This is a van!"

"Well, we can always pretend that this is a bus!" she added, hoping that she could persuade everyone to sing along anyway.

Carrie began to sing her part:

"We are the back of the bus,

The back of the bus,

The back of the bus,

We are the back of the bus,

So where is the front?"

Herb and Amy sang their verse of the song:

"We are the front of the bus,

The front of the bus,

The front of the bus,

We are the front of the bus,

So where is the back?"

Jamie and Gregory joined in, and they sang the verse for the back of the bus. Herb and Amy sang the part for the "front of the bus".

"Oh my, oh my, oh my…" Esther chided Gregory. "Why do you have to sing so loudly?"

Esther covered her ears while Herb, Amy, and the three kids continued to alternate singing their verses out loud for almost ten minutes, until Herb and Amy finally got tired.

"We're here!" Herb announced, as he pulled off the highway and crossed the intersection on to the road leading to the school. "This will be our home for a few days…"

"I can't believe I'm spending three days at a school, while I'm still supposed to be enjoying the last week of my summer vacation on the beach." Greg groused, as he prepared to hop out of the van.

"Oh, stop complaining, Greggy" Jamie laughed. "Better a school for shelter than outside in a hurricane! Trust me!"

Herb stopped the van right before the entrance to the school. It was pouring rain, and they wanted to be able to get out of the van so that they could run towards the big main door to the school.

All three kids got off the van, carrying their bags with them. They dashed from the van to the front door of the school so they could get in out of the rain as quickly as possible. Amy left the van to join the kids. Herb finally took his umbrella, and helped walk Esther to the building. Once she was inside, he returned to park the van. When he joined Amy, Esther and the kids a few minutes later, they proceeded to the registration table. This table was staffed by volunteers from the Red Cross.

Herb and Amy registered first and then Esther. Once they were done, Greg and Carrie gave their names and answered some questions. When it was Jamie's turn, Herb and Amy had gone to one of the classrooms at the school. Carrie followed them, while Greg stayed with Jamie.

A young lady, who was dressed in white, was sitting at the table. She was sitting next to the representative of the Red Cross. Another man was sitting at the other end of the table. The man was big and stocky, and he was wearing the uniform of a security guard.

"Alright, young man… First of all, can you tell me whether you had your flu shot this year?" the nurse asked Jamie.

"Uhh… No…" Jamie responded, not knowing why the lady was asking this.

"If you can't provide proof that you've received your shots, then I'll give it to you tonight." The nurse said. "So, have you had your flu shot this year? Yes or no?"

"No…" Jamie said first. Then he realized that she was going to give him a shot! "I mean, yes… I had my shot already… I had it at school!"

"Oh? Where do you go to school?" the nurse wondered.

"I'm from out-of-state. I'm from Metropolis… I'm visiting Florida with friends…"

"Oh… Hummm… What's your name?"

"I… Uh… Alex… My name is Alex" Jamie responded.

The nurse stared at him with a very suspicious look on her face. She stood up, and placed both hands on the table, while holding her arms extended.

"Young man…" she explained. "If you cannot provide a form from your school, saying that you have received your flu shot, then I will give you the shot myself. There's a hurricane coming this way, and we'll be housing over three-hundred evacuees. The last thing we need is everybody getting sick just because you didn't have your flu shot. You won't get out of receiving the shot from me. I will ask Jake, my partner, to remind you that you must get your shot. I'll let you off tonight. But, I expect you here, first thing in the morning; is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am…" Jamie replied. He realized that the nurse meant business. He noticed the name 'Jennifer Cooper' on a black name tag, which was pinned to her white uniform.

The security guard stood up as well. He was a big, heavy-set man, with a bald head, a short beard and a trimmed, dark mustache.

"My name is Jake" he boomed, in a baritone voice. "When I tap you on your shoulder, then you'll come with me to the nurse's station. And you won't give me any trouble, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"I will be expecting you in the morning… Alex…" the nurse said in such a way, that it sounded like a threat.

Jamie slowly made his way down the hall, pulling his soft bag behind him, while it rolled across the floor on the two plastic wheels attached to the bottom. Greg walked behind him, before catching up to his buddy.

"Since when is your name 'Alex'?" he asked Jamie.

"That's my middle name! I didn't lie!"

"It is not! Liar!"

"Is, too! My real middle name is Alejandro, which means 'Alex' in Spanish! So there!" Jamie argued.

"That nurse sounded pretty insistent about that flu shot!" Greg asked him.

"Yeah…" he replied with consternation.

"She can't poke a needle in your arm! You're invulnerable!" Greg whispered back to Jamie. "How are you going to handle that?"

"I don't know, but I'll think of something…"

The boys entered a classroom, joining Carrie, Herb and Amy. They were watching TV. Several cots and sleeping bags were set up in the small classroom.

"Well… I guess this will be our home for the next few days…" Greg said, as he dropped his bag to the floor, in the corner of the room. "Boy, this is going to be so much fun…"

Jamie set his bag down beside Greg's. He then walked up to Herb, and asked him if it would be OK for him to walk around for a few minutes. Herb nodded, and the two boys left the classroom and strolled down the halls of the small high school.

As the boys were walking past other classrooms, Jamie suddenly froze, as he gazed intently at the wooden door.

"What is it?" Greg wondered. "Jamie?"

"Hold on… I see something…" Jamie responded quietly, while, with his x-ray vision, he was staring through the solid wooden door at the TV set in the room.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 20

"Hurricane Gregory is now a powerful category three hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of over one-hundred and twenty miles per hour. The storm is moving north at nine miles per hour, and it is currently located about fifty miles south of Gulf Breeze, Florida. The hurricane is expected to make landfall early tomorrow morning. All residents of Gulf Breeze and surrounding communities of Pensacola and Navarre have been ordered to evacuate. All residents and visitors should have followed evacuation orders, promulgated by the Escambia County Sherriff Department. Shelters have been opened in Santa Rosa County and in Washington County. Residents along the southern coasts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana are strongly advised to monitor the storm closely" the TV announcer said.

"The hurricane… It's going to make landfall tonight…" Jamie said, as he continued to stare at the door. "It will pass through the state tomorrow morning…"

"Wow… Am I glad you're here with us!" Greg sighed.

"That's the thing!" Jamie whispered. "I need to find a way to get out of here!"

"Why? You can't leave us here! Besides, you're supposed to stay inside the shelter at all times!"

"If I stay here, then I won't be able to help people who're stuck outside! I have to be able to get out of here in the morning…"

"You're going to get a flu shot in the morning, dude!"

"No, I won't…" Jamie answered. "Besides, Wes is supposed to bring me my suit. I'll have to find a way to get out of here, so I can fly around the area in case I need to help someone in trouble. I've tangled with this storm once already and I barely managed to get a lady and her son to safety in their SUV, before the bridge, that they were on, collapsed!"

Greg folded his arms and held them in front of his chest.

"I thought you said you were on vacation, and that you didn't want to be Superboy at all this week! Here you are, and you're planning on wearing your suit and going out to do super stuff after all!

"I didn't know about this hurricane!" Jamie replied, spreading his hands expressively. "Besides, Greggy, what would YOU do in my position? I have to be outside, so I can be ready to help if someone needs it!" Jamie laid his palm on Greggy's' shoulder. "And bro, I really, really need you to help me get away from here from time to time."

"Okay… Well… I guess we'll need to find some way to get you outside, so that…" Greg responded, just as the two boys turned the corner. Suddenly, Jamie froze in his tracks. They were staring at Jake, who was standing right in front of them.

"What's that?" Jake sneered at Gregory. "No one leaves the shelter, do you understand, young man?"

"Oh, great…" Greg grumbled. "It's the warden…"

"I'm serious! I'm keeping an eye on you two!" Jake said, while pointing his finger at the boys.

"Why am I beginning to feel like this is a prison, instead of a hurricane shelter?" Greg said, while rolling his eyes.

"Because, it is! You can't go outside! There's a hurricane blowing out there! You'll get killed! You boys are going to stay in here and behave because you won't be allowed to leave here unless I say so, is that understood?"

Both Greg and Jamie nodded submissively at the big security guard.

"And you… Alex…" Jake said, as he turned towards Jamie. "I'll come looking for you in the morning. You're going to get your flu shot."

Jamie just gulped. He needed to avoid having to go to the nurse's office at all costs!

After that, the boys walked back to the classroom where the rest of the family was staying.

"I'm going to get out of here tonight" Jamie whispered to Greg, as he sat down on his sleeping bag, which was laid out on the floor in the middle of the classroom. "I'm going to fly around and see if I can help minimize the damage from the storm a little bit…"

Early next morning, Jamie got up from his sleeping bag, put on shorts, t-shirt and sandals, and he began to wander around the halls of the school. As he strolled around the building, he overheard voices other early risers. Most evacuees in the shelter were very concerned about their homes, their businesses, and their families. He also picked up on several radio news broadcasts, and some evacuees had brought portable TV sets with them. Everyone was watching the news that morning, hoping to see where the storm had struck and how soon it would pass over the area so they could return to their homes and businesses.

"Hurricane Gregory has made landfall, and is traveling over Pensacola at a forward speed of 12 miles per hour. The storm has maximum sustained winds of one-hundred and twenty miles per hour. This is a dangerous Category Four hurricane, and all residents are strongly advised to remain inside of the shelters or in their homes…" the announcer said. "The eye-wall has just reached land at Pensacola beach. Please remain indoors, at all costs, until emergency personnel have given the all clear to leave your homes or shelters. Flying debris, downed power lines, flash flooding and possible tornadoes pose a significant ongoing threat in the primary strike zone."

Greg was lying on the cot, against the outer wall of the classroom. Carrie was still asleep, and Herb and Amy had just gotten up and moved to another classroom set up as a coffee and refreshment lounge, which was equipped with a large flat screen TV set.

Greg was startled by a tapping sound on the window right above his head. He got up to investigate. He gasped out loud, when he recognized the familiar figure of a tall, ebony boy, who was floating just outside his glass window.

"Wesley!" Greg exclaimed. Greg turned the latches, unlocking the window. He pushed up the window to admit his flying friend.

"Hey Greg…" Wesley said to him. "How are you? How are things down here?"

There was a light rain outside, and Wesley was had been drenched by the rain.

"Come on in, Wes… You're getting soaking wet out there!"

Wes passed through the window and settled down onto the floor. He pulled out a plastic bag out of his backpack.

"Where's Jamie?" he asked Greg.

"Jamie must be wandering around. Do you want me to get him?"

"Yeah! I need to talk to him!" Wes answered.

"Who's that?" Wes whispered to Greg, while he pointed at the little girl, who was asleep on the sleeping bag on the floor.

"That's my little sister, Carrie…" Greg told him. "Don't worry; she knows who you and Jamie are. She won't talk…"

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 21

Greg left the room, closing the door behind him. Wes just stood in the corner and surveyed the book shelves, speed reading several volumes as he waited patiently for Greg to with his little brother. Presently, Carrie awakened and looked up. She didn't say anything to Wesley, who smiled at her.

"Good morning, Carrie…" Wes said to her.

Just then, Jamie and Greg walked through the door. Greg closed the door behind them, so that Wesley wouldn't be seen by anybody else.

"Hey bro…" Wes said, handing Jamie a white plastic trash bag. "Here's your suit. Put it on but only show it when you're outside, okay?"

"Yeah… Thanks for bringing it down, Wes..." Jamie smiled, as he pulled the familiar blue-and-red costume out of the plastic bag.

Carrie gasped when she recognized the suit. She stared at Jamie with her mouth wide open, as she continued to stare at the boy, who was holding the familiar blue-and-red suit in his hand.

"The storm has made landfall, Jamie. The eye wall is passing over Pensacola Beach right now." Wes continued. "Make sure that everyone in the shelter is alright, first. Then, make your way out of here. More than likely, there'll be people out there who'll need your help! If you need my help, just ring my cell phone. If you can't get through, just call me with your voice. I'll keep my ears peeled for your voice and I'll hear you if you call out my name. You do that and I'll come back as quick as I can make it down here."

"Okay! Thanks a million, Wes! I owe you one…" Jamie smiled.

Jamie and Wesley embraced momentarily.

"Be careful out there! The hurricane is over us, and it is nasty out there! The rain is really coming down and the wind gusts are very, very strong… Just be sure you know what you're doing, when you get outside, okay?"

"I will… Thanks, Wes…" Jamie answered back. He hadn't needed any of Wesley's "coaching." He'd been a super boy much longer than Wes. But, he appreciated his older brother's concern for him. Jamie adored his always protective older brother.

Jamie turned around and stepped into a small storage room. Moments later, he emerged in his Superboy costume.

Wesley stepped up to the window, opened it, flew out into the storm and disappeared into the overcast in seconds.

"Holy cow! You look so different when you're dressed up as Superboy!" Carrie exclaimed.

Greg laughed. "Yeah, Carrie! Hard to believe 'our Jamie' is also the world famous 'Superboy,' huh?"

The little girl just nodded her head, as she gawked at the super hero, standing right there in front of her.

"Well, I need to get out of here…" Jamie said. "I need to find some other way of getting outside of the shelter, without being seen by other people…"

"Why can't we use the window, like Wes just did?" Greg asked him.

"No… I need some sort of a secret exit out of the school building…" Jamie replied, as he wandered around the classroom. Greg and Carrie just followed him with their eyes.

"Ahh… I know!" Jamie cheered, as he snapped his fingers. "The little storage room…"

Jamie walked to the door and opened it. He switched on the ceiling light. There were a few shelves, a slip sink, four wall and no windows. The room was barely larger than a closet. It was used to store cleaning implements and supplies.

Jamie surveyed the room. He knelt down and fixed his gaze on one of the walls, just above the floor. Greg saw Jamie's irises change from blue to green. Right away, he knew that his best friend was using his x-ray vision.

"I'm going to make a secret door through this wall, so I can get in and out of the building without being seen by anyone else but you guys…" Jamie announced.

Jamie rested his hands against the wall for a moment. Then he took a step back. Red pencil beams of light fired from his eyes, converging on the wall. Jamie's heat vision sliced through the wall, cutting the brick wall like a knife a hot knife through butter.

"Oooh wow…." Carrie gasped. "That is so cool, seeing Superboy in action; and so close to us…"

"Yeah, I know…" Greg chuckled in reply, to his little sister.

Within no more than a dozen seconds, he had a clean outline about one meter square clear through the wall. With this palms, he slowly shoved the rectangular piece he'd cut free, out of his way, and he crept through the hole, followed by Greg. Carrie started to follow her brother, but Greg stopped her.

"Stay inside, and don't tell anyone where we are, okay?" Greg instructed her.

"But, I want to come with you! I want to be with Superboy!" Carrie whined in reply.

"Are you crazy? It's way too dangerous! Stay inside!" Greg growled back in response.

"What if mom and dad ask for you guys?" she wondered.

"Tell them I'm with Jamie and that we went outside for just a few minutes."

Jamie and Greg emerged through the hole into the driving rainstorm. Greg was obliged to shield his eyes from the stinging rain.

A strong wind gust suddenly came, knocking Greg off his feat! He fell on the ground, now completely drenched.

Jamie rushed to help Greg back to his feet and held him steady with his powerful right arm.

"Here," Jamie said. He grinned as he drew small rings out of a pocket in his cape.

"Put this on your right ring finger!" he shouted at Greg, as he handed him the ring. The wind was blowing so loud, that they could barely hear each other's voices.

Jamie slipped an identical ring on his finger as Greg did likewise with his. Greg grinned as a felt a substantial measure of Jamie's power flowing into his body.

"Wow… this is so sweet… I can feel your power!" Greg exclaimed, as he was now able to stand up against the rain and the hurricane force wind gusts.

"Let's head on back to the hurricane strike zone." Jamie suggested. "Use your x-ray vision and super hearing to scan the buildings for any people who might be trapped or stranded. And Greggy, you need to stay in line of site with me. We've both got to keep that in mind as we work. You'd lose your power very quickly if we lost line of sight contact with each other, Greggy, okay?"

"You got it, Supy…." Greg smiled in reply.

Both boys leaped into the air, and they flew off, heading west, toward the Navarre and Gulf Breeze communities, where eye of the hurricane was passing right then.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 22

Gregory and Jamie flew over the area close to where Grandma Esther lived, in Gulf Breeze. They stayed close together, carefully remaining within line of sight of one another. Ordinarily, this would have been almost impossible beyond a dozen meters or so, but with their super vision the boys easily maintained visual contact. The howling wind buffeted the two boys, but this did not bother Greg as much as it did Jamie. Greg was enthralled by the majesty and power of the storm, although imbued with Jamie's power, in truth it was no match for his own! Within no more than a few minutes, Greg was flying like a veteran super boy. He had taken to his powers like a duck takes to water. Jamie smiled to himself, as a rush of pride in his friend washed over him.

"Jamie! Look over there!" Greg shouted, pointing at a house on the ground. "The roof on that house looks like it's about to go!"

"Oh no! There are people in that house!" Jamie exclaimed, as he scanned the house with his x-ray vision. "We need to get them out of there as fast as possible and then we need to take them to the nearest shelter!"

Suddenly, a tall oak tree, which in the back yard began to topple.

"Greg! Get that tree!" Jamie shouted.

Both boys swooped down and grabbed hold of the falling tree, deflecting its fall from the house. It would have smashed through the roof had the boys not shoved it aside.

By then, part of the roof had been blown off the house. The boys flew through the gap into this house. They found a lady and her two children hunkered down in an interior hallway storage locker.

"Hey! Are you three alright?" Jamie asked the lady and the kids. Her children were a boy and a girl about ten and eleven years old.

"Yes… Thank you so much, Superboy…" the lady replied her voice quavering with fraught nerves.

Jamie explained. "My friend and I have got to get you out of here, now. We'll take you to a shelter…" Greg gave the lady a reassuring grin as he took her hand. Jamie took the hands of the two kids. They took off and flew to the school in Chipley, they were staying. They dropped them off at the front door to the school and took back to the skies.

Jamie grinned at Greg.

"Congratulations on our first rescue, Super Hero!" he shouted.

Greg nodded. Then he said to Jamie, "Dude, we better get back to the shelter, before somebody notices we're missing…"

"Yeah… I don't want Mister Jake to get too suspicious" Jamie agreed.

The two boys flew to the back side of the school, where Jamie had cut a hole in the wall, with his heat vision. As soon as the boys had landed, they crawled through the small opening in the wall into the small storage room. Vibrating at super speed, Jamie quickly dried himself off before donning his sweatshirt and sweatpants over his costume.

The boys stepped out of the storage locker and into the classroom, where Carrie was asleep on her cot.

Jamie and Greg went out into the hallway where they ran right into Jake, the security guard!

"You two!" Jake barked. "Where have you been?"

"Uhh… we…" Jamie stuttered, not knowing for sure what to say.

"How come both of you have wet hair?" Jake noted. "Have you two been outside?"

"No… we…" Greg began to respond.

"I'm keeping a close eye on the two of you!" Jake said angrily. "You two were outside! Are you crazy? Do you realize that there's a major hurricane outside, just a few miles away from here?"

"Yes, we know that! We didn't go very far! We were just…" Jamie began to respond, before Jake cut him off.

"You are NOT supposed to go outside! Is that clear?" Jake snapped at them. "If I see that you've left again, then I will notify your parents and then you'll be in BIG trouble! Is that understood?"

Both boys just remained quiet, as Jake slowly turned around and started to walk away.

"I'm keeping an eye on you two…" he muttered. He said it just loud enough for the boys to hear him.

"Rats! I can't stay locked up in this shelter, where people are in danger outside!" Jamie said to Greg. "You've got to cover for me, Greggy! You have to help me out with this!"

"What are you going to do? Are you going out again?" Greg whispered to him.

"Yes! I have to!"

"Jamie! If Jake sees that you've escaped from the shelter again, and then he'll tell my parents and we'll both be in trouble!"

"I realize that!" Jamie responded. "But there are people out there who need my help! We'll just have to take a chance, Greggy!"

Greggy nodded gravely. "Alright, Jamie. Go! I'll cover for you. But check back here and make an appearance between rescues. That ought to keep Mister Jake happy."

Jamie and Greg entered the classroom. Carrie had just awakened.

"Close the door, Greg… So nobody sees me going into the storage closet!" Jamie said.

Greg closed and locked the classroom door.

Jamie doffed his sweatshirt and sweatpants, revealing his Superboy costume. He then pulled on his red boots, completing his costume. Yet again, before her very eyes, Carrie had witnessed Jamie's transformation into the "Boy of Steel."

Carrie asked "Where are you going, Superboy?" she wondered, while she stood right in front of the caped, muscular boy.

"I'm going out to help people who are caught in the hurricane…" he whispered back to her. "But, Ssshhhh…." He placed his index finger before his lips, indicating that she should keep quiet.

"It's a secret, just between us. Please don't tell anybody, okay?"

"I won't tell anyone, Superboy!" she whispered back.

Jamie turned around and walked to the storage room. Carrie quietly followed behind him. She had reached out her hand and took hold the edge of his long, red cape.

When Jamie arrived at the hole in the wall, he turned around and warned the little girl to stay inside.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 23

"Carrie! Don't follow me outside! That is a big, bad storm out there. It's very dangerous! Stay inside with Greggy and wait for me to get back, okay?" he said.

"Oh Superboy… Don't go away! Please stay here!" she pleaded with him.

Jamie smiled at Carrie. "I'll be back soon. I promise. But right now I have to help some people out there, who are in grave danger! Some of them are just kids, no older than you. Please, Carrie, stay here and wait for me to come back!"

Suddenly, both Carrie and Superboy turned to face Greggy who had just stepped through the door way into storage room.

"Carrie! You're NOT going outside with Superboy! There's a hurricane out there!" Greg said at the little girl.

"Go on…" Superboy murmured to Carrie. "Stay with Greggy!"

Reluctantly, Carrie obeyed and walked towards Greg, who stood in the doorway to classroom.

"I'll be right back! Cover for me, you two!" Superboy called back to them.

"Will do. Just hurry back, Supes…" Greg answered. "Before Jake realizes you're gone again…."

Jamie, as Superboy, clambered through the opening in the wall, extended his arms and leapt into the sky, quickly disappearing into the low, heavy overcast.

Jamie flew over the coastline, scanning the area of hurricane Gregory's landfall. Roofs of several homes had blown off. Several Dozen wooden structures had been reduced to rubble. He scanned every structure for any sign of life, heaving a sigh of relief when he found no one in danger in the immediate area.

Then he flew over the water at low altitude, hoping and praying that no one had been lost at sea to the raging fury of the hurricane. Presently, he saw a small cabin cruiser. It was foundering. Powerful waves thundered over the helpless vessel. Without Jamie's help the two people on board, a man and a woman were lost. The man was in the open cockpit struggling with his helm and throttle to no effect. The woman was below in the tiny cabin.

Jamie dove down to the surface and landed on deck alongside the man. "Sir, he yelled, raising his powerful voice over the howling storm, I'm gonna dive under your boat and lift it up out of the water. I'm gonna fly your boat ashore to safety away from the worst of the storm. Now I need you to go below and join your wife. Both of you hang on as best you can. This is gonna be kind of a bumpy ride!"

The man went below. Superboy verified that the man and his wife were relatively secure before leaping into the sea and diving under the yacht. He positioned himself under the hull and hoisted the 15,000 pound vessel up out of the water!

"Oh my God, We're flying!" the lady exclaimed.

"Hold on tight!" the man instructed his wife, as he tightened his own grip on one of the handholds bolted to the bulkhead. "He's flying us back to shore!"

Jamie steadied the cabin cruiser on his back and headed for safer water. Flying west as fast as he dared, within minutes he arrived over Gulfport, Mississippi and settled the boat into the relatively calm waters offshore, well out of harm's way. He maneuvered the boat within a few meters of a pleasure craft pier, released his hold on the hull, swam to the surface and clambered onto the deck as the man and his wife emerged from their shelter inside the cabin. Jamie asked, "Sir, are you and the lady OK now?"

The man nodded, thanking Superboy profusely. "Thank you very much for this, Superboy. My wife and I both thought it was the end for us. We got a late start getting down to our boat and got caught in the storm. We should've just left the boat. We nearly lost both the boat AND our lives. And now, thanks to you, we've still got both!"

Jamie smiled. "I'm just glad I could help. If you folks are OK, I'd better get on back to Gulf Breeze. Take care!" He leapt into the sky and was gone in a flash.

"Whew" he sighed. Those people would have been lost at sea, had he not intervened and flown the ship to the pier. He hoped there would be no more foundering small boats in the hurricane strike zone off Gulf Breeze.

Jamie remained very busy. He spotted a few homes in an area which had been flooded. Several families had ignored the evacuation orders, and found themselves hunkered down in the attics of their homes. When floodwaters reached the attic, they were forced to break through and climb out onto the roofs of their homes, hoping that the water would rise no further.

Jamie spotted a large family on the flat roof of a badly battered three story condo. It looked like it was about to go. He landed on the roof and did a quick head count. A dad, mom and six kids. He decided he could take two at a time and fly them to safety at the shelter. He started with the youngest, working his way through the brood of kids taking the oldest son and daughter last. They he doubled back for his last "load," the mother and father. When he arrived, he was horrified to see that the house had collapsed. Frantically, he scoured the floating debris with his super vision. He found the man and his wife among the flotsam, clinging for dear life to a roofing joist. He dove for the surfaced, plucked them out of the water and flew them to the shelter. After making sure they were OK, he took off again and headed for the Pensacola area. When he arrived overhead, with his super hearing, he heard several desperate cries for help. The faint cries were coming from the gulf, so he turned and headed out to sea, homing in on the sounds. Within moments, he found himself hovering over an oil rig. One of the four support pillars had collapsed from the battering of the heavy seas.

Jamie swooped down and landed on the platform. A quick scan with his x-ray vision revealed, where three crew members were holed up. They were in the communication compartment, trying to establish contact with someone by way of their radio transmitter. Somehow, they had fallen through the crack when all the rigs on the path of the storm were being evacuated.

"Thank you for coming, Superboy!" one of them said, as soon as the Boy of Steel walked into the room.

Superboy announced gravely, "Your platform is about to collapse. I need a steel beam to use to reinforce that pillar!"

"Yes! One deck down, there's half a dozen big I-beams staged down there. We just got them. We were gonna use them to install a new track for an overhead chain hoist," the man replied.

The platform shifted, tilting crazily. The three men fell to the deck and rolled to the low side of the room. Superboy realized he had no time to waste. If he couldn't affect the necessary repairs in a hurry, he'd be fishing these men out of the raging waters of the Gulf!

Jamie's heart was thumping madly against his chest. He dashed from the communication room, down the companion way and out into the storm. He descended the stair to the level below and made his way to the deck where the I-beams has been chained down. He decided these should serve his purpose.

He leapt over the guard rail and floated down, positioning himself alongside the damaged support strut. He surveyed the damage. The strut had folded inward under the platform. It was on the windward side of the platform, the support most vulnerable to the furious pounding of the waves. With his heat vision, he softened the steel and then flew into position, laying his outstretched palms on the bend. Positioning his body horizontally, he pushed the strut back into shape. There was no way that would hold without some structural reinforcement. He flew back up to the lower deck of the platform where the I-Beams had been stored. With his powerful fists, he snapped the tie down chains and seized the first I-beam. He flew it down to the strut and, using his heat vision, quickly welded it into place, reinforcing the weakened structure. Working quickly, he repeated the process with the remaining five I-beams.

When the job was done, he re-boarded the platform and returned to the communication compartment. He assured the three men that the temporary repair should hold them just fine until more permanent repairs could be made after the storm passed. The Boy of Steel then leaped back into the air, and he soared towards the shore.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 24

Jamie rescued several car loads of people stranded on the flooded roads in the low lying areas in the strike zone. He lifted the cars out of the water, flying them to higher ground and safety.

He also managed to rescue a family in a single engine airplane that had been caught on the edge of the storm. They had been forced to venture into the edge of the heavy weather to find a place to land. They had tried make for a divert field, but the aircraft had developed a fuel leak and they lacked the range to make it to a safe landing strip clear of the bad weather. They were on the western side of the storm with winds from the north that threatened to blow them out to sea. Jamie managed to intercept the aircraft which had just gone "dead stick" (i.e. the engine had died due to fuel starvation). He flew the aircraft to the Gulfport Airport on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and deposited it on the transient line at one off the fixed base operations located on the airfield.

There was no time for pleasantries with the family in the distressed aircraft. After a quick wave, he was off to the rescue of a school bus full of kids, which had gotten stuck in the rising waters. He lifted the bus and flew it to higher ground, before heading back to the shelter, which was located at the high school in Chipley.

Jamie landed outside the school, sighing with relief. He had been going non stop and he was actually tired, mostly from the stress of performing one life saving rescue after another. He realized he had been away from the shelter for way too long. He wondered how Greg and Carrie had been holding up, while he was outside.

Meanwhile, Greg and Carrie were staring out the window of the classroom, their temporary home at the shelter. Greg had a bad case of "cabin fever." He was very tired of staying indoors. He was well past ready for the hurricane to move on out of the area, so he could get out of the shelter.

Presently, Greg and Carrie were startled, when there was a knocking on the door to the classroom.

When Greg walked over to the door to unlock it and to open it, he gasped and took a step back. It was Jake!

"So, is everybody alright in here?" Jake asked.

"Yes, sir… We're fine," Greg answered.

Jake looked around the classroom, and noted that Jamie was nowhere to be seen.

"So, where is your buddy?" Jake wondered out loud. "I don't see Alex anywhere…"

"Uhmm… well… Alex is… He is…" Greg stuttered, looking for an answer.

"Alex had to go to the bathroom!" Carrie offered out loud.

Greg looked at his little sister in shock. But he quickly adjusted and gave Jake a nod. He decided to play along with Carrie, and try to cover up for Jamie so that Jake wouldn't suspect that the super kid was missing from the shelter.

"Alex wasn't feeling too good. He has an upset stomach…" the little girl explained to the security guard.

Greg was relieved that Carrie had said it, instead of him. Greg understood that Jake might not have believed him. But, since Carrie was the one who protected Jamie instead, he was more likely to believe them.

"Oh…" Jake groaned. "Well, tell Alex he needs to come and see me at the nurse's station, as soon as he comes out of the bathroom, okay? He still needs to get his flu shot, and he's not getting off so easily, this time!"

Jake then turned around and walked out of the classroom.

As soon as the door was closed, Greg turned to face his little sister.

"Way to go, Carrie! You saved Jamie's skin, for the time being!" Greg said.

The boy embraced his little sister. He was delighted that Carrie had covered for Jamie so well. Although Carrie had told a bald-faced lie, Greg justified it on grounds that, in this case, it had been "an emergency." He could only hope that Jamie would return soon. They had not realized that Jamie had just landed outside.

Jake wandered about the school searching in earnest for Jamie. "I'm gonna find that little scamp," he mused. "He's gonna get his flu shot and that's all there is to it."

Jake had determined that Jamie was using the same classroom as Greggy and his sister as his dormitory room. But the boy had not been in the room and Carrie had said he had gone to the bathroom. He found Jamie, just as he was stepping out into the hallway from the boy's restroom.

"Hey, Alex!" he called to him. "Where were you? Were you wandering around outside again?"

"Aw come on…" Jamie sighed. He was getting tired of hearing about the nurse, the flu shot, and the fact that he wasn't allowed to go outside.

"Alright, young man…" Jake said. "Time's up. Now you're coming with me!"

Jamie closed his eyes and heaved a deep sigh. He bowed his head as he pondered how best to handle this flu shot situation.

"Okay. But first I need to get something from my room."

Jake stood back from the door, allowing Jamie to pass. He followed close behind the boy. He was determined not to let Alex out of his site, until he has finally gotten his flu shot.

"You're going to get your flu shot, right now, and no more stalling or excuses," Jake said.

Jamie entered the room and softly informed Greg of his predicament. He was cornered. Jake was determined to escort him to the nurses' station for a flu shot right then and that he would brook no more stalling or delay.

Jamie walked out of the classroom wearing his long-sleeved crew sweater, grey sweat pants and sandals with Jake following right behind him.

When they arrived at the nurse's station, they stepped up to the desk where Nurse Jenny was seated. She was talking on the phone, ordering supplies for the shelter. Presently she said "goodbye" and hung up.

"Well, here's our friend Alex," she smiled. "I guess you finally decided to get that flu shot, huh?"

"Yeah… I guess you can say that," Jamie sighed.

"Come on, follow me, Alex…" Nurse jenny said, as she picked up a folder from the desk.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 25

Jenny led Jamie down the hall to a small office that had been set up as an exam and treatment room. There were two chairs, one fitted with arm rests, a padded exam table and a temperature and blood pressure monitor a small refrigerator and a large locking steel medicine cabinet.

Jenny motioned Jamie to take a seat in the arm chair as she rummaged through the ice box for a vial of flu vaccine. She drew out a tiny bottle and set it atop the ice box. Then she rummaged through the medicine cabinet for a fresh disposable syringe. She donned a pair of rubber gloves, opened the sealed packaging and pulled out the syringe. She inserted the needle through the rubber cap of the vial of flu vaccine and drew the solution into the syringe.

"Nurse Jenny..?" Jamie asked.

"Yes, Alex?" she replied. "What is it?"

"Could you please close the door?"

"Yes. Of course," she answered. She got up and gently closed the door.

"I don't want anyone to see my cry when you stick me with that thing," Jamie explained.

"Oh, come on…" she smiled. "You look like a pretty strong, healthy boy. These flu shots might sting just a little bit but, really, they're not much, nothing to be afraid of. Sometimes I've had patients who said they never felt a thing."

Jamie decided to just remain quiet and to play along.

Jenny took the syringe and stepped up to Jamie.

"Alright… Now, go ahead and roll up your sleeve. Just relax your left hand and try to remain very still, you'll feel just a little sting," she instructed. Jamie rolled back the long, thick sleeve of his grey sweater revealing the skin tight blue sleeve of his Superboy costume.

Nurse Jenny commented. My, you're very muscular! Most grown men don't have muscle like that! You need to roll up that sleeve on your jersey, too!" she smiled.

Obediently, Jamie rolled back the sleeve of his blue costume. Of course, the nurse had no idea that the sleeve was attached to the costume of the world famous "Boy of Steel."

"Roll you sleeve up all the way!" she instructed. "Show me your muscle, Alex!"

Jamie rolled back both sleeve revealing his left bicep.

"There you go!" she said. "I can't get over your arm. I've never seen that kind of muscular development in a boy your age. Do you work out a lot?" she wondered out loud, as she brought the needle closer to Jamie's arm. "I bet you must lift a lot of heavy things…"

"Yes, ma'am, sometimes I lift stuff that I guess might be kinda heavy."

Jenny positioned the needle to administer the injection.

When the needle failed to penetrate Jamie's super hard skin on her first attempt, she tried again, the second time applying more pressure. The needle snapped in half, breaking on Jamie's super hard skin!

"That's odd…" she murmured. "I couldn't get the needle to penetrate your skin. It broke!"

Jamie just nodded in reply. Of course this would never work but he decided to just remain quiet and allow Nurse Jenny to come to this conclusion, on her own.

"Hmm… That's never happened before…" she mumbled to herself, while she held up the syringe and stared at the broken needle. "I guess the needle must've been defective. I'll try it again…"

She took a fresh syringe out of this sealed, cellophane wrapper. She charged the syringe with a fresh does of flu vaccine and tried again and again the needle broke on Jamie's super hard skin.

"That's odd… What's happening? What's going on here?" she asked Jamie.

"You can't give me a flu shot, or any other kind of shot!" Jamie answered. "My skin is just too hard for the needle to poke through!"

"What? How is that possible?" she wondered. She was completely astonished over the fact that she was unable to poke the boy's arm with the needle.

"I'll show you…" he answered, as he rose from the chair.

Jenny gazed at the boy wondering how he would explain his impenetrable skin.

"How did you do that? Nobody has skin as hard as that! Who are you, anyway?" she asked the strange boy.

Jamie pulled down the sleeves of his blue jersey, then the sleeves of his gray sweater. Then he removed his gray sweater by pulling it up and over his head.

"Oh my God…" the nurse exclaimed. "Y-You… You're… You're…"

Jenny gazed at the familiar figure of the short, muscular boy decked out in his Superboy "plumage".

"Hi, Nurse Jenny. You can't give me a flu shot, because I'm Superboy…" Jamie smiled.

"I-I thought your name was Alex…" she whispered. She didn't know what to say to the strange boy in the colorful suit.

"Sssshhhh! Nobody's supposed to know that I'm staying here, at the shelter!" Jamie whispered in reply. "I'm just here to make sure that everyone is alright, while the hurricane is passing through this area!"

"Wow…"

"So you see now…" Superboy said smiling. "You'd never get that needle through my skin. Besides, I really don't need flu shots, because I'll never catch the flu!"

"Wow… Well, I'm sorry for making Jake chase you around the shelter in order to get you to come here and get a flu shot… I had no idea who you were…" she said apologetically.

"That's alright! Nobody's supposed to know that I'm here… So, please, keep it a secret, okay?" Superboy asked her earnestly.

"I will… I won't tell anybody. As far as I'm concerned, I gave you your flu shot, and you're good to go…" she replied.

Superboy took his sweater from the chair and slipped it over his head. Then, he slipped his arms through the sleeves, slowly covering his blue and red costume with the grey sweater.

"Well… I'm sorry about the confusion…" she said, as she opened the door to the small room.

"No problem… Please, just tell Jake that I've had my shot, so that he leaves me alone from now on, okay?" the boy requested the nurse.

"Okay! And, Superboy?" Jenny asked the boy.

"Yes, Nurse Jenny?" Superboy responded softly.

"Thanks for looking out after us!" she smiled, just before she opened the door.

The two walked out of the room and strolled back to her desk, where the big, heavy security guard was patiently waiting for the boy to come out.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 26

"So you finally got your flu shot?" Jake asked.

"He's all set… He won't get the flu. I can assure you that…" Jenny said to him, as Jamie passed in front of the two adults.

"Good… That means; I don't have to chase him around the shelter anymore." Jake answered. "Now you see, young man? That wasn't so bad after all, was it?"

"No sir", Jamie chuckled. "It wasn't so bad after all. I didn't feel a thing!"

"Thank you, Nurse Jenny!" Jamie winked, before turning to walk back to his classroom, where Greggy and Carrie were patiently waiting for him to return.

Greggy and Jamie just continued to read and play video games, as the hurricane slowly passed over the area heading north. Eventually, the howling winds had died down, leaving just the sound of rainfall on the school house roof.

When the residents were finally given the "all clear", Greggy's family quickly returned to Gulf Breeze in order to inspect their grandmother's home and business.

Several shingles had been peeled off the roof of Esther's small grocery store although all the windows were boarded up and the plywood had held up well. But given the intense rainfall and roof damage, water had gotten inside to cause considerable damage to the interior and contents.

There was standing water in the store. Herb and Amy had decided they would remain in Gulf Breeze long enough to help Grandma with her cleanup and repairs.

The weather was still an issue. Although the worst of the storm had passed, strong thunderstorms continued to flare up, and there was still a tornado watch in effect for the stricken area. After helping with the cleanup and repair of Grandma's store, Jamie and Greggy went out to see what they could do to help with cleanup of the surrounding areas. Jamie wore his Superboy costume and a power ring and he'd given Greggy a power ring as well.

"We need help cleaning up this place" said. "Let's see if Wes can help us…"

"Do we really have to?" Greggy sighed, as he rolled his eyes. He was often at odds with Wesley, because they frequently had their differences of opinion.

"Yes, Greggy, we need all the help we can get!" Jamie assured his best friend. "Don't worry; Wes will come here to help us. Let me deal with him. Don't say anything to him, besides just 'hello' and everything will be OK, I promise!"

Jamie drew his cell phone out the pouch in his cape and dialed Wesley's number. Within minutes, Wes showed up, and joined Jamie and Greggy in their effort to help out those in the community with property damage.

The three super boys worked together clearing fallen trees and branches, telephone and power poles and debris. They started with the roads and streets to clear a path for relief workers and the power company's repair crews. And they moved on to homes and businesses, doing what they could to effect temporary repairs to protect property from further rain damage.

They worked as quickly as they could, taking advantage of the limited time between rainfalls. When the rain started again, although most people sought shelter, the three super boys remained outside working tirelessly to help the community with the cleanup efforts, even though they were obliged to work in the pouring rain!

Finally, Wes broke their silence. "Guys, we'd better get inside! This weather has gotten a lot worse."

There were loud thunder claps and flashes of lightning visible in the clouds overhead.

"It's a thunderstorm! We need to get inside!" Jamie agreed.

"No way! We still got way too much left to do! We can still work in the rain, can't we?" Greg pleaded with the two super kids.

The three boys had just removed several trees that had fallen against a number of mobile homes in a trailer park just outside of town.

Greg was about to take off, when he spotted an odd-looking stone, lying in the grass all by itself.

"Hey, Jamie, come take a look at this rock! It's glowing. The glowing rock was reddish amber on one side, and bright green on the other.

"We need to get inside, Greg! Just bring that thing along with you. You can check it out once we're safe inside.

"Guys," Wes called again. "Come on! We need to get inside, now!"

When neither Greg nor Jamie moved to comply, he trotted over to join them.

"Do you think this could be a meteorite?" Greg wondered out loud.

Jamie and Wes moved in for a closer look as a flash of lightning suddenly struck the rock with a loud crash, shattering the rock into many tiny fragments.

As the lightning struck, all three boys turned away and shielded their eyes.

Momentarily, they recovered from the shock. Then, they were surrounded by the strange glowing green and amber metallic fragments.

"I feel really sick right now…" Jamie mumbled, as he sank to his knees, and toppled face first into the grass! "Zyrtonium… It's Zyrtonium…"

Jamie had passed out and then so did Wes. Greg was alone with his two unconscious friends amid the debris field from the shattered meteorite.

Momentarily, he was completely flummoxed. "How could the two most powerful boys on the planet just keel over and pass out?"

"Sure, we worked really hard but they're super boys. They just don't GET tired that easily. They'd hafta go for DAYS at that pace before they even STARTED to feel the least bit tired. But with this ring on my finger, I shouldn't feel tired or sick either, but I DO. I'm really feeling weak and sick. Why?" Greggy pondered out loud.

Then it registered.

"Those meteorites! My God! It's Kryptonite AND Zyrtonium! What are the odds? My ring! I don't just get Jamie's strength, I'm getting is weakness too! I gotta get this ring off my finger!"

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 27

Greggy pulled off his power ring and slipped it into his hip pocket. Immediately the weakness and feverishness left him.

Momentarily, he mused, "Too bad THEY can't get out of a jam as easily as this!"

"I gotta get rid of those rocks, right NOW!" he murmured.

He removed Jamie's cape and used it to gather up the meteor fragments into a makeshift bundle. He managed to retrieve nearly all of them. Then he proceeded to put as much distance as he could between himself and Jamie and Wes.

But, strangely, the weakness that had subsided substantially when he'd first removed his power ring seemed to have come back stronger than before! Greggy's mind was clouded with confusion.

"I don't understand. I took the ring off. What's happening to me? Why am I feeling sick? That stuff isn't supposed to affect me like it does Jamie and Wes."

He dropped Jamie's cape, wrapped like a bundle about the poisonous meteorite fragments and staggered about another five meters before collapsing to the ground unconscious.

Moments later, Jamie regained consciousness. He shook the cobwebs from his head. He saw Wes sprawled alongside just regaining consciousness. Momentarily, Wes was alert.

Jamie asked, "Where's Greg! Greggy!" Jamie screamed in anguish. He saw his friend lying face down in the grass about twenty five meters away.

"Greg! GREGGY!" Jamie shouted, when he spotted him lying on top of his cape.

"Let's get him inside… now!" Wes ordered, as he wrapped his arms around Greg's waist.

"Do you need my help?" Jamie asked.

"I got him," Wes replied, as he lifted Greg's body off the grass cradling in his arms.

Jamie quickly attached his cape to his uniform, as he followed Wesley back into grandma's store.

When Jamie and Wesley walked into the store, Esther was still busy cleaning up.

"Oh, heavens! What happened to him?" she asked, when Wesley and Jamie showed up at her door, Wes carrying Greggy in his arms.

Jamie explained, "Greggy had this meteorite he found. He was struck by lightning! Wes and I passed out and I guess Greggy did too. It was the meteorite. It's very toxic to us. But now Greggy is still unconscious! And we don't know why. It shouldn't have affected him like it did us."

"Ahh… The prophecy is about to be fulfilled! My home is right behind the store here. Let's take him over there and put him to bed." she instructed to the two super boys.

Wes carried Greggy to Esther's house behind the store and made his way to the small guest bedroom, with Jamie and Esther following behind. Wes laid Greggy on the bed as Esther reassured him and Jamie, "He'll be alright".

Esther said, as she examined the boy's head. "He'll need to take it easy for the next couple of days…"

Jamie and Wesley stayed with Greg until he regained consciousness. Greg complained of a splitting headache, but he was feeling alright besides that.

Wesley flew back to Metropolis, while Jamie remained with Greg at Esther's house. They planned to drive back to Metropolis the following day. At first, the boys had decided not to tell their parents anything, unless Greg started to feel anything strange or unusual. Greg retrieved the power ring from his pocket and handed it back to Jamie.

Greggy felt weak during the long drive home. He slept on the back seat of the SUV while Jamie and Carrie played cards. They had no idea what had really happened to Greg. Nobody noticed anything unusual during the trip back to Metropolis, since Greggy remained asleep during the entire trip.

With the permission of Jamie's parents and Greggy's parents, Greg spent the first night back in Metropolis at the Kent's, while sleeping in Jamie's room, on the top bunk.

The following morning, Wesley went to work at his part time job at a nearby grocery store. Jamie and Greg spent the morning at home. Jamie had just started toasting some bread for their breakfast.

Greg's gaze was fixed on a slice of bread remaining on the plate. Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation in his eyes. The sensation was one of searing heat although it was not painful in the least. Almost subconsciously, Greg released the energy burst into the slice of bread instantly incinerating it! The boy mused that he could just as easily have suppressed the wayward blast of energy but he'd had no idea what it was.

The bread had been reduced to black ash by Greggy's fiery glance.

In shock, Greg continued gazing at the pile of ash on the badly charred plate.

"Greg! What happened? What's the matter?" Jamie asked. Greggy's face was white as a sheet. "You look like you just saw a ghost!'

"Did you see that? Did you see that?" Greg exclaimed to his best friend.

Jamie spotted the ash that had been the slice of bread and the charred plate.

"Wait a minute. Greggy! What… What happened? What did you do?" Jamie asked him.

"I don't know! I glanced at that slice of bread and it just went up in a flash!"

"Uh, Greggy. Yeah. You gotta be real careful with that" Jamie explained. "Sometimes if your vision gets fixated on something, like that slice of bread, you can feel an energy buildup behind your eyes. You can control it easily enough, but, dude, you GOTTA remember to DO that. Just suppress it and that kind of thing won't happen. And you can channel it and control it with just a little practice. But WAIT! I thought you gave the ring back to me before we left Gulf Bree…"

Jamie's voice trailed off as Greggy held up his right hand. He was NOT wearing his power ring.

Both Greg and Jamie gasped at the same time, when they realized that Greg wasn't wearing the ring around his finger at all!

Jamie added. "And I'm not wearing MY power ring. Even if you WERE wearing yours, unless I'm wearing mine too, you wouldn't be getting any of my power. It takes two to 'tango' with that! What's going on here? How did that happen?" Jamie wondered out loud.

I… I don't know!" Greggy replied.

"I-I-I think we'd better tell my dad about this…" Jamie stuttered, not knowing what to say in reply. "Something must have happened to you, when we were still in Florida. Your grandma did say something about 'the prophecy.'"

"I was wondering about that…" Greg whispered. "I've had a splitting headache ever since that happened… I've just been feeling really weird since then…"

"Well… Let's wait for my dad to get home from work. He'll be here for lunch. I think he needs to examine you, just to be sure you're alright…" Jamie replied softly. "Let's just stay calm and stay home. My dad should be home in an hour or so…"

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 28

Greg and Jamie finished their breakfast. They shot the breeze, watched some TV and half-heartedly played video games as they waited for Clark to come home.

At about 12:10 p.m., Clark entered the house through the kitchen door. Jamie and Greggy had both heard his arrival even before he'd opened the back door. They met him in the kitchen as he entered.

"Hi there, boys! Did you have a fun morning?" Clark asked, as he took his coat off.

"Uhh, dad… There's something really weird about Greggy…" Jamie said cautiously.

"Oh, really?"

"Mister Kent…" Greg asked him soberly. "I accidentally torched my bread this morning. There was nothing left but ashes and the plate was scorched; and that was without wearing a power ring on my finger or on Jamie's. Weird, huh?"

"What?"

"Dad…" Jamie explained. "That last day before we left Gulf Breeze to come back home. Greggy, Wes and I were all outside. Greggy found this rock; said it looked like a meteorite. Well, it was! It was hunks of Kryptonite and Zyrtonium fused together into one solid chunk. Well, Greggy didn't know what it was at first and he called Wes and me over to have a look. Well, right as we got up alongside Greggy, he got struck by lightening. He could've been killed!"

"Oh my God…" Clark exclaimed, while he heard this story from his son, for the first time.

"Well, Wes and I passed out from the Kryptonite and Zyrtonium. Greggy told us that the lightening had shattered the meteorite into pieces. Greggy figured out what was wrong with Wes and me. So, he pulled off my cape and used it to gather up all the fragments to get them away from us!"

Clark just stared at the boys with his mouth wide open.

"Well, HE was feeling weak and sick now, so he figured out he must be getting that through the ring, along with the powers he was getting from me. So, he pulled it off and at first it worked. He felt better right away. But, then the sickness came back. Still, he managed to get that stuff far enough away from Wes and me that we wound up coming to" Jamie explained.

"Yeah, I passed out this time!" Greggy added.

"When I woke up, I found Greggy face down about fifty meters away" Jamie continued. "He'd only managed to crawl about five meters away from the meteorite fragments, before he collapsed unconscious. This happened on the last day before we came home. We think something may've happened to Greggy. Can you check him out; so that we're sure he is okay?"

Clark gazed at Greg with a grave expression.

"Are you feeling alright, Greggy? Are you in pain or anything?" Clark asked the boy.

"I've been walking around with a splitting headache for the last two days. Other than that, I feel OK, I guess." Greg replied.

"Alright, give me a minute to change. I'll fly you to the Fortress of Solitude. I can examine you there." Clark said.

About thirty seconds later, Superman returned to the kitchen.

"Jamie, go ahead and change into your costume. And bring a blanket for Greggy. We need that to wrap over his shoulders to keep him warm. And give him some sweats, long johns and warm socks out of Wes' locker."

Jamie asked; "Why not just let him wear a power ring? I could wear my ring, too, and then he'd have some of my power and he won't feel cold at all!"

"No, Jamie," Clark replied. "I don't think we should chance that right now. We really don't know what's going on with Greggy and I don't want to muddy the waters any more than they are already."

Jamie and Greggy went first to Wes's room to borrow a pair of sweats, long johns and warm socks and a sweater and then on to Jamie's bedroom, where they quickly changed clothes.

"Greggy, I don't think you need to worry about the cold as long as you're in contact with Jamie or me. And once we get inside the Fortress, you'll be just fine. The interior temperature stays at 20 degrees Celsius all year round" Superman assured the boy.

As he held Greg's hand, Superman took off, with Superboy flying right behind them. The trio quickly flew to the secluded Fortress of Solitude, which was hidden on a remote island in the Arctic, just off Canada's northern coast.

When the arrived above the Fortress, Jamie grasped the giant airline directional marker, positioned it in the giant keyhole and opened the great door. As they flew inside, Clark asked, Greg, "Are you OK, son? Are you feeling cold at all?"

"No Sir, Mr. Kent," Greggy answered. "Except for this headache, I'm feeling just fine. Thanks."

Once inside, Jamie closed the giant, steel door, before the trio floated to the large Kryptonian Conversion Chamber, which was situated on the bottom level. Clark flipped on the master power switch, activating the device including all the controls and displays.

Clark asked Greg to remove all of his clothing except his shorts. The boy undressed and entered the Conversion Chamber, which doubled as a physiological diagnostic facility. Greg lay down on a cushioned exam table positioned in the center of the small compartment. Clark and Jamie remained outside the chamber, standing before the console, positioned just outside. They had a good view of Greg through the large plate glass observation port.

Clark spoke to Greg through a microphone on the master console. "Just close your eyes, try to relax and just lie still."

Soundlessly, a silver spherical device floated down from the ceiling and hovered about 10 centimeters above Greg's head. It drifted down his body, bathing it in a smoky, soft bluish beam, finally arriving above his feet. Then the device floated back up and disappeared, "melting" into the ceiling.

Within minutes, the large computer screen flashed several paragraphs of Kryptonese text and numbers on the screen. Clark read and reread the results; he turned to Jamie in shock.

He murmured, "Jamie, I'm going to re-run this test to verify the results, but I am already positive. Greggy is a Superboy now. His headache will subside in another day or so. And by the end of the week, I expect Greggy will be nearly as powerful as you. He'll actually be stronger than Wes or me!"

"You're kidding!" Jamie exclaimed.

"I'm dead serious! His physiology is closer to Zyrtonian than Kryptonian. But he still retains vestiges of his Terran heritage. Interestingly, although he is susceptible to Zyrtonium, he's not as susceptible to it as you are or as Wes and I are to Kryptonite. And there's something else going on with Greggy" Clark added.

"There is something else? What are you talking about, dad?"

"I'm not sure what it is. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. But, thanks to that lightning strike, Greggy is a different breed of cat. He's not like he was, but neither is he exactly like you or Wes or me."

"What? What do you mean?" Jamie wondered.

"Greggy's DNA is similar but not identical to yours!" Superman replied, as he faced his son.

"How can that be?" Jamie asked

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 29

"I'm not really sure, Jamie. But my best guess right now is that lightning strike, in combination with the brief exposure to Zyrtonium and Kryptonite, while he was wearing the power ring, has caused the power, which he was drawing from you, to be engrained in Greggy's body permanently!"

"Wow!" Jamie gasped, as he turned to stare at his best friend, who was still lying on the bed in the conversion chamber. "You mean; he has super powers of his own?"

"I am certain that he does!" Superman replied.

The Man of Steel then spoke through the microphone, so that Greg could hear his instructions.

"Alright, Greggy. Everything looks like you're just fine. But I'm gonna run this test one more time just to make sure. It'll only take another few minutes and then you'll be able to come on out and get dressed."

The second test yields the exact same results. Clark and Jamie both took deep breaths and then Clark spoke into the microphone.

"OK, Greggy, you can come on out now!"

"So, Dad, Greggy's like me now, except for one thing. Do you have any theories?" Jamie asked as he watched Greg stand up and walk towards the chamber door.

Greg opened the door and stepped out joining Clark and Jamie.

"Greg is very much like you now, Jamie, but not exactly."

Greg asked Clark, "So you're saying Jamie's powers are permanent in me now? I'm like a super boy now, even without the rings?"

"There is something different about your powers, Greg. I can't quite make out what it is, but it was caused by the lightning strike. It has something to do with that, I think."

Jamie and Greg exchanged glances and then looked back at Clark.

"I know that's awfully vague boys, but for now, it's all I've got. We're just gonna hafta wait and see. The important thing, Greggy, is that you're unharmed. That's far more important that what powers you may or may not have gained from all this. We can all be very grateful that the lightening strike didn't hurt you very badly. That is the most important thing!"

Jamie agreed emphatically as he laid his palm on Greg's shoulder.

Clark added. "Greggy, it is only because of your quick thinking that Jamie and Wes are alive today. That meteorite was poison to both of them and they had no one to help them, but you. You took it on yourself to get the meteorite away from them, even though it was making you sick too. Thank you so much, Greggy for saving the lives of my sons. You are a hero, son. Do you realize that? You're a hero!"

Greggy blushed and heaved a sigh as he murmured. "Wow. I never dreamed in a million years I'd hear these words from the 'Man of Steel!'"

Clark answered, "Greggy, I'm so proud of you. I couldn't be prouder of you, if you were my own son."

At those words, Greggy beamed with pride. Clark embraced the boy in a fatherly hug, followed by Jamie who hugged him with full strength. Now that Greg was a super boy, he no longer had to hold back his strength.

Clark said, "Boys, I think we're about done here. We should be getting back to Metropolis. I need to grab a quick bite of lunch and then I'd better get on back to the office. I've got a story I'm working on and I'm up against a deadline!"

As they made their way through the labyrinth of corridors, floating above the floor to the great door at the exit to the Fortress, Greg asked Clark, "So, what should I do now, Mister Kent?"

"First, we need to tell your parents. Then, I'll want to come back here with you, and teach you how to use and control your powers. You're a lot stronger than you're used to, right now. Everything around you is very fragile, especially other people. Like, just now, Jamie and I hugged you really tight, just like you normally would've hugged any of your family or friends. But you're a super boy now! I've only had the luxury of hugging Jamie and Wes really tight, up to now. But I can't do that with Lois, nor could Jamie or Wes. When we hug normal people, we have to watch it. We have to hold back. Now you have to hold back on almost everything, Greggy, because now you live in a world made of very delicate glass!"

They left the fortress. It was Greggy's honor to lock the great steel door. They quickly flew back to Metropolis. Presently, they landed at the Kent's home where Clark changed back into his Clark Kent persona and called Lois at work. Then he dialed Herb and Amy's phone number. Amy answered. He asked her if he could drop by that evening, explaining that he had some important information to share with Herb and her.

Clark drove to Herb and Amy Henriquez' house on his way home from work. He knocked on the door and Amy answered.

Amy greeted Clark and invited him inside and offered him a seat in the living room. She went into the kitchen to prepare a pot of coffee. Momentarily, she reentered the living room with Herb. Greg had heard Clark' arrival and came out of his room and sat down on the sofa next to him. He was somewhat apprehensive. Clark reassured him that everything was going to be just fine.

Clark got right to the point. "Herb and Amy, thank you both for seeing me like this. I have something very important to tell you. It involves something that happened to Greggy and my son Jamie, when you were down in Florida."

As Herb and Amy blanched, Amy asked, "What? What's happened to Gregory and Jamie?"

"Well, first, I want you both to know right off that they're both just fine. They're not hurt or sick, so please, both of you, rest easy on that account. This doesn't involve injury or disease or anything like that."

Herb and Amy visibly relaxed at Clark's words of reassurance.

Clark continued. "But there WAS an accident. Greggy was struck by lightening."

Amy whimpered in anguish as she looked from Clark to Greg. Greg hastened to reassure his parents.

"It's not what you think, Mom. Like Mr. Kent said, I'm not hurt. I'm OK. Please, just listen to what he has to say" the boy said to his parents.

"I've done a preliminary examination of Gregory, and I've come to the conclusion that Greg has been permanently endowed with super powers during a freak accident, a lightening strike, involving Greggy, Jamie and Wesley, while they were cleaning up storm debris down in Gulf Breeze after the hurricane" Clark explained. "Please rest assured that he'll be fine and I don't see any negative effects from it. He's perfectly healthy."

Both Amy and Herb stared at him in confusion.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 30

"What are you talking about, Clark? Greg has super powers? You mean like Superman and Superboy?" Herb asked him.

"That's impossible. How could you possibly think my Greggy is anything like Superboy?" Amy wondered out loud.

"Well, you see, Greg was with Jamie and Wesley. He had just picked up what he thought might be a meteorite, when it was struck by lightening. What he found WAS in fact a meteorite. It featured traces of both Kryptonite and Zyrtonium. You see, Zyrtonium affects Jamie the same way Kryptonite does me and Wesley, my oldest son."

"Kryptonite? I thought Superman was the only person who was affected by that! What does that have to do with you and Jamie and Wesley?" Amy asked him.

"Well, actually, both Kryptonite and Zyrtonium are toxic to anyone. But Kryptonite is far MORE toxic to Kryptonians and Zyrtonium is far more toxic to Zyrtonians than either would be to Terrans. It takes sustained exposure to adversely affect Terrans. But exposure to even relatively small amounts would lethal to Kryptonians and Zyrtonians after only a very short time."

Both Herb and Amy glanced at each other. They were very confused. Why was Clark telling them all this? He wasn't making any sense!

"Amy, Herb, what I am about to tell you would put my family, in grave jeopardy if this gets out. I am putting the fate of my family in your hands, with what I am about to share with you." Clark said in a serious tone of voice.

Both Herb and Amy held their breath.

"You know Jamie, my youngest son…" Clark said.

"Why, of course we do! Jamie is over at here, visiting Greg, all the time! Those boys are best friends! They're inseparable!" Amy replied.

"Then you'll be pleased to know, that Jamie is Superboy."

Both Amy and Herb stared at Clark in shock; both of them had their mouths wide open.

"But, if Jamie's Superboy and he is your son, then… That means that you… You're…"

"Yes, Amy, I am Superman." Clark said gravely.

Amy and Herb gazed at him in shock. They sat in stunned silence for nearly a minute.

Amy stuttered, "But… Why are you telling this to us? And what does that have to do with my son, Greggy?"

"Greggy has been wearing a special ring off and on. Jamie loans it to him now and again. It was made of Kryptonian materials utilizing Kryptonian technology. Jamie has an identical ring, which he wears all the time. When Greg wears his ring, and he's in line of sight with Jamie, then he has the same powers as Jamie. Greggy was helping my sons with post-hurricane cleanup while down in Florida, when they were struck by lightening" Clark explained.

"Wow…" Herb gasped softly.

"Both Jamie and Greg were wearing their power rings. And then Greg found that meteorite, which contained traces of Kryptonite and Zyrtonium. After he'd picked it up, he was struck by lightening. The meteorite shattered and peppered all three boys with the fragments. Jamie and Wes went down immediately. Greggy not only gains a good measure of Jamie or Wes' powers when he's is linked to either one of them, while wearing his power ring. He also gains their vulnerability to Kryptonite or Zyrtonium. Greggy realized that almost immediately, so he pulled his ring off his finger, and the weakness left him almost immediately, as did his powers. He was back to normal, or so he thought. Jamie was dressed in his Superboy costume at the time. Greggy quickly appropriated Jamie's cape and used it to bundle up the meteorite fragments and haul them away from my boys. But then, the weakness came back to him. Greggy had gotten the rocks far enough away from Wes and Greg that they quickly recovered. But then, even without the ring on his finger, Greggy too was struck down by the Zyrtonium. He'd managed to crawl about another five meters away from the bundle he'd dropped before he passed out. When Jamie and Wes came to, they found Greggy face down in the grass. They took him to your mother who put him to bed straightaway. By his quick thinking and resourcefulness, Greggy probably saved Wes and Jamie's lives as well as his own. He was a hero that day. And now with his new powers, he has all the makings of a SUPER hero!"

Both parents gazed open mouthed at Greg, as he sat on the sofa next to Clark.

Herb said to his son, "Greggy, you've known all this time about Jamie and Mister Kent; that they're Superboy and Superman, and you never told us. You kept that to yourself. And what happened down in Gulf Breeze, happened right under our noses..."

Herb shifted his gaze to Clark. "I've always loved my son dearly. But Amy and I have raised this boy from a pup and, come to find out, there's more to him than either of us ever dreamed."

Herb turned back to Greg. "Son, I am so proud of you for guarding the Kent's secret. And I'm very proud of your quick thinking down in Gulf Breeze with that meteorite. Mister Kent is right. You really are a hero!"

Greggy looked to his dad for reassurance. "So you're not mad at me, Dad?"

Herb was mildly surprised at Greggy's question. He hastened to reassure his son.

"No, son; of COURSE not! Your mom and I are very proud of you!"

Greg got up from the sofa and stepped over to his dad who stood and embraced his son. Greg, very much in control of his powers and, mindful of Clark's warning, was careful not to hug his dad too tightly; but with just the right amount of pressure one might have expected from a normal boy his age. Greggy's finesse was not contrived. He did it easily, naturally. And then he hugged his mom in turn.

"That is just so incredible!" Amy remarked cautiously. "So, what happens next? What does that mean for Gregory? What will happen to my son?"

Clark nodded. "I understand your concerns. Your lives will never be quite the same from now on, now that your son is a super boy. He'll need you both now more than ever. Just because he has more power in his young frame than all the combined armies on the planet, indeed, more power even than me…"

Herb interrupted. "Clark! Wait a minute! You're telling me that Greggy is stronger than Superman?"

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 31

Clark nodded. "Only Jamie is stronger than Greg. Greg's physiology is basically Zyrtonian, not Kryptonian. And Zyrtonians, though related to Kryptonians, are actually far stronger. If Greg isn't stronger than I am now, it's only because he's still a boy. But, by the time he reaches his teens, he will undoubtedly have considerably more strength than Wes or me, with our Kryptonian physiology. But my point is, Herb, even with all that power, emotionally Greggy is still a little boy, just like Jamie. And, like Jamie needs Lois and me, Greg is gonna need you and Amy more than he ever has before."

"Herb, I've done my best to train Jamie and Wes in the proper use and control of their powers. Greg needs our help; mine, Jamie's and Wes'. He must learn how to control his powers, and, if you and Amy agree, to bring his powers to bear to the benefit of us all. I would need to take Greg with me to the Fortress of Solitude to begin his training. In fact, over the next few months, I'd like to spend quite a bit of time with Greg, if that's OK with you and Amy."

Herb replied, "I don't guess that would be a problem, Clark. As long as you can assure me he will not be seriously injured."

Clark was amused by Herb's concern, but recognizing his reservation as very real and legitimate, he concealed his mirth and answered as gravely as he could. "Herb, I understand your concern. It's perfectly natural for you to worry about Greggy's well being since you're his father. But Greggy is about as close to indestructible as anything on this planet. Here, I'll show you."

In a blinding flash, Clark stood to his feet and removed his outer Clark Kent garb revealing his Superman costume underneath. Amy and Herb were both startled momentarily but they quickly recovered. Clark apologized. "I'm sorry. I know that quick change startled you. But I needed to demonstrate for you that I really AM 'Superman.' You both realize, don't you, that no normal Terran could have done that?"

Herb and Amy didn't to speak. They both just nodded.

Clark turned to Greg and smiled. "Could stand up right here for just a minute?"

Greg smiled back as he answered. "Sure, Mister Kent."

He stood next to Clark. "Now son, I want you to stand back a couple of paces, place your fists on your hips and just set yourself up to get hit in the stomach. Tighten you abs for me. Don't worry, Greggy, this is gonna hurt ME a lot worse than it's gonna hurt you."

Greggy nodded a little uncertainly, but he trusted Clark so he did as the man asked. He turned to his parents and reassured them. "Don't worry Mom and Dad. Mister Kent knows what he's doing."

Clark thanked the boy for this trust and then reared back and hammered his abs with everything he had!

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Greggy did not flinch. He did not move. After being hammered in the gut repeatedly by Superman, the 'Man of Steel,' the most powerful man on the planet, with more power in his fists than all of mankind had at its command, Greggy remained unmoved, riveted in place by his super-human power, will, and indefatigable boy-muscle.

Herb and Amy were stunned. Softly, Herb murmured, "You didn't hold back, did you, um, Clark? Superman?"

Clark smiled. "When it's just us, Herb, 'Clark' is fine. But if I'm dressed like this out in public, please, it's ALWAYS 'Superman,' NEVER 'Clark.' And if I'm dressed as Clark, of course it's never EVER 'Superman.' As for your question, the answer is no, Herb. I didn't hold anything back. I hit Greggy with everything I had, and, as you and Amy saw, he did not even move. He's just as powerful as Jamie!"

Greg grinned proudly first at Clark and then at his parents. "That was so cool! It didn't hurt a bit!"

Amy asked. "But what about Greggy's schooling?"

"Trust me" Clark chuckled. "School will become very easy for him! He'll be able to do all his homework and reading and studies flawlessly in a matter of seconds!"

Amy and Herb talked it over between themselves. Finally, Herb turned to Greg. "Is this what YOU want, Greg? Do YOU want to go with Clark and learn more about how to use your powers the way he and Jamie and Wes do?"

Gravely, Greg answered, "Yes, dad. I really do. I wanna use my powers like Mister Kent and Jamie and Wes use theirs, to help people. And I wanna make sure I can control my powers so nobody gets hurt. And I need to learn how to keep this a secret so nobody ever finds out about me, like nobody's ever found out about Mister Kent and Jamie and Wes. I really need this Dad. I want this!"

Herb asked. "And you promise to mind Mister Kent and do everything he says and to be careful?"

Greg nodded. "Yes, Dad. I promise. I'll do everything Mister Kent says and I'll be very careful."

Herb asked Clark. "You're sure you wanna take this on? Greggy can be a handful sometimes, even without his new super powers."

Clark laughed. "Don't worry, Herb, I've got two of my own, just like Greggy. And THEY can be a handful sometimes too. But, Herb, Amy, I promise the two of you, I'll treat Greggy just like he was my own."

Herb smiled. "Fair enough. Sure! You can take Greg with you!" Herb said with a smile. "And thanks Clark, for doing this for our son."

Greg beamed, grinning like a little boy at Christmas. He could not wait to share the news with Jamie and Wes.

Clark left and drove home. Amy, Herb and Clark agreed that Greg should have supper with his parents and little sister, pack some clothes and a toothbrush and make his way to the Kent's' after the evening meal.

Greg arrived at the Kents' townhouse a little after 9:00 p.m. He joined Jamie and Wes in Jamie's room. They played a few hands of canasta and half heartedly played at video games for a couple of hours or so, but Greg was getting antsy. None of the boys were tired and they really didn't need to sleep.

The three youngsters quietly left the house and flew off to a nearby neighborhood park. It featured and artificial lake with an earthen dam at one end. The boys landed on the bank and strolled around the lake. After about half an hour or so, Greggy groaned.

"Oh no, guys. It's fixing to rain."

Wes looked up and then back at Greg.

"No way dude; look up. It's clear as a bell. There's not a cloud in the sky."

Greggy shook his head.

"Gee, I dunno" Greg said. "I just had this feeling like, well, like it's gonna rain. I guess that's impossible."

The boys continued along on their leisurely stroll, laughing and joking as they picked their way along the shoreline. After about another fifteen minutes, the wind began to pick up while dark, heavy clouds rolled overhead. A thunderstorm was brewing, seemingly out of nowhere. Wes and Jamie looked up, then at each other and then at Greg.

Wes exclaimed, "I guess you were right, Greg, look! It's about to start raining. Maybe we better get back."

Greg looked up his gaze transfixed. A little absently he murmured. "Yeah, I guess now you guys can smell the ozone. But look, you can see it. The warm and cold air masses are colliding. Gee, its only September! Kind of early for a cool front like this don'tcha think? We shouldn't be getting anything like this for another three or four weeks I wouldn't think."

Wes probed, "Greggy, what did you mean you could see it? What did you mean by that?"

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 32

Greg point up to the sky. "Well, hey, you can see the air masses clear as a bell, even at night, how they look like two fluids mixing together. Like if you poured milk into a glass of water without mixing the solution, how the two fluids interact. Can't you see what I'm talking about?"

Jamie and Wes exchanged glances. Wes answered, "Well, Greggy, we can see the clouds but I don't see what you're talking about, do you Jamie?"

Jamie shook his head. "Not me. I don't understand Greggy. What're you saying? You mean you can SEE the air?"

Greggy, with just a trace of frustration answered, "Yes! I can see it clear as a bell! It's transparent, but, still, it's just as clear as can be, you can see how the air masses have different temperatures and pressure and how when they mix together the clouds mushroom out. I never saw that before; or at least I never noticed it until I got hit by that lightening strike but I'd just assumed you guys could see it to. I just thought it was just something that comes with these new powers."

Wes shook his head. "No, Greggy. It's not. It must be something different. Here, let me link my mind to yours if that's OK. Then I can see what you're seeing. And, if it's OK, I'll bring Jamie into the psychic link and he can see, too."

Wesley did so and both he and Jamie were ogle-eyed.

"Whoa!" Jamie exclaimed, "I see what you mean. It's kind of transparent, almost like a clear jelly but, well, I guess it's like this all the time for you, huh, Greggy."

Greg nodded. "Yeah, Jamie, pretty much. It's almost like you can reach out and touch it. Not actually REACH out, but, well, you know what I mean."

Unintentionally, but in perfect unison, both Jamie and Wes exclaimed, "No, Greggy, I DON'T know what you mean."

All three boys laughed at that. Greggy said, well here, I'll SHOW you want I mean. And then, with his mind, Greggy reached out and began to "herd" the air masses, separating them and channeling them away from each other and, by nothing more than his force of will, he equalized the temperature and pressure within the to colliding air masses.

Gradually, the heavy clouds dissipated and again the skies were clear. Thanks to Wesley's psychic mind link with Greg, both he and Jamie saw it all. They stood transfixed.

It was Wesley who said to Greg in awe, "Dude, this is unbelievable! Wait'll Dad hears about this. You can control the WEATHER, man. Nobody can do that… Nobody! But YOU, Greggy… You… just… DID!"

Jamie sniffed, "Darn it! Wes, you're psychic and now Greggy, you've got the power to control the weather. Me? What've **I** got? I'm just the weak, little sister here." Although he'd tried to sound miffed, the twinkle in his eyes betrayed him.

Wesley laughed. "Weak little sister? I don't think so, yah big dumb lug!"

Greg laughed too. "Well, Wes, 'lug' I'll grant you and maybe 'dumb.' But 'big?' Naw. Jaime's a little sawed off dumb lug!"

All three boys laughed as Jamie mock punched Greggy's right shoulder.

Greg laughed again. "Easy on the shoulder there, Mister Muscle Man! You might be a sawed off little runt, but that's quite a wallop you got there! You're the strongest kid in the Universe! Nobody can touch you, Jamie!" The three boys laughed again.

Wesley was thinking but keeping his thoughts to himself momentarily. Jamie picked up on it and asked. "A penny for your thoughts, Wes?"

Wes snapped out of his reverie. "We need a name for Greg and a costume to match; something about the weather, naturally. I'm thinking maybe, no, why not "Weather Boy," that sounds like he's the weather announcer on a kid radio or TV station."

"How bout 'Rain-Boy'? Naw, that's hokey, not that either." Jamie pondered.

And then Wesley's eyes lit up. 'I've got it, 'Storm Boy!' And we'll call you 'Stormy' for short. Like when we call Jamie 'Supes' or when y'all call me 'Speedy.'"

Jamie cheered, "That's great, Wes! Awesome!" He looked at Greg expectantly. "Well, Stormy, what do you think? Yah like it?"

Greg smiled at Jamie and Wes. "Yeah, I think I DO! I really think I do. 'Storm Boy' it is."

The next morning, the three boys went to Lois.

Jamie made the pitch. Flashing his soft, baby blues looking up at here through his long eyelashes he asked, "Mom, could you make Greggy a super hero costume?"

Lois wasn't in the least be surprised by the request. She had been expecting it. She'd made both Jamie's and Wes' and had fully expected to be asked to step up to the plate yet again. Before she left for work, she took all of Greg's measurements. She would appropriate some Kryptonian materials from the Fortress of Solitude to fashion a super hero costume for Greg.

Greggy had requested that the suit be like a jumpsuit, similar to Wesley's. His suit would be blue, with brown gloves, boots, and a mask. It would be form fitting, like Greg's costume, but not skin tight like Jamie's. Lois promised Greg she would have his costume ready by the time he returned from the Fortress after his first course of training with Clark, Jamie and Wesley.

The suit, fashioned from Kryptonian high tech super cloth would be virtually indestructible and would 'grow' along with Greg. The hi-tech Kryptonian logic circuits, woven into the fabric would ensure a wrinkle free, spot free perfect fit all the time. And no one but Greg would ever be able to don his 'Storm Boy' costume. The logic circuits in the super fabric would easily defeat anyone else's attempt to do so.

To be continued

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y– Part 33

Epilogue

Jamie, Wesley and Greggy were watching TV in the living room, the day after Greg had returned from spending the weekend with Clark at the Fortress of Solitude for his training. The boys were casually watching their favorite cartoon show, when the broadcast was interrupted with a startling news flash. Pictures of a large fire at an apartment building were shown on the screen. The fire was burning out of control! The broadcast was live, and the fire was still raging.

"Guys! That's our chance to help out! Let's go!" Wesley ordered, as he stood up and dashed to his room. Greg and Jamie went to Jamie's room, and all three of them changed into their respective super hero costumes.

Seconds later, three figures were spotted, flashing across the sky. Two of them were wore jumpsuits as their costumes; the third a skin tight costume and a flowing bright red cape.

On the ground, people looked up, gazing in awe at the trio flying overhead. Very few of them knew the names of all three of the flying super boys. Although everyone knew and recognized Superboy as one of the three young costumed heroes only a few knew Speed Demon by name, and no one had ever heard of Stormboy. But, this was about to change!

The boys arrived at the scene. They divided the large apartment building into three sections. Each was responsible for a section. Each boy scanned his assigned section searching for people trapped inside.

Jamie and Wesley's sections were completely clear. But Greg, however, found a young mother, who was holding a baby in her arms, as she was trapped by the flames. She was unable to get to the stairwell, and she did not dare jump from her bedroom window with her baby! She had no means of escape.

Greg flew up to the window and beckoned to the young woman. In as strong a voice as he could manage he ordered.

"Come here, ma'am. I'm gonna get you and your baby out of here!"

The woman did not move. She was paralyzed, frozen in place by her fear and indecisiveness. Greg could tell she did not trust him to bring off a safe an effective rescue. Rather than trying to coax her to come to him, he stretched out his arms and plunged his fingers through the building walls, just outside the window frame and ripped it free from the surrounding structure. He had not wanted to smash the glass for fear of flying glass harming the woman and her baby. He cast aside the window, frame and all, and entered the flaming building.

He hovered just above the floor and looked into the terrified young mother's eyes.

"Please, ma'am. I'm here to help. Just hold on to your baby. I need you to hold onto her tight. I'm gonna get both of you out of here."

Something about Greggy's calm, gentle but strong reassurance snapped the young woman out of her paralysis. She allowed herself to be cradled in Greggy's arms as he lifted off the floor and flew out the window. He searched the scene for the emergency crews and spotting an ambulance, made for it, presently, landing alongside. He set the woman down on her feet and smiled at her.

"Thank you for trusting me, ma'am. I think you and your baby are gonna be ok now."

The young woman, now in control of her faculties looked into Greggy's eyes and replied, "I don't know who you are. But, whoever you are, you're a hero. You saved our lives just now. Who ARE you?"

Greg smiled again as he blushed. "Well, ma'am, most people call me 'Storm Boy,' but pretty lady that you are, you can just call me 'Stormy.'"

In spite of the horror she'd just endured, she laughed. "You're not only a hero, um, 'Stormy,' you're a real charmer, too!"

Greggy grinned. "Well, yes, ma'am. I try!"

The young woman kissed Greg's forehead and thanked him for the rescue. He grinned and blushed and shuffled his feet bashfully and then, taking his leave, he took off to rejoin Wesley and Jamie in the rescue and fire fighting operation.

The young lady remarked to the astounded attending EMTs, "Isn't he adorable!"

Moments later, a local television news crew interviewed the lady. She told them, on the air, that she was extremely grateful for Stormboy, the new super hero, who had saved her life and the life of her baby. Now, the whole world had heard the name of the mysterious young super hero!

Wesley and Jamie were waiting on a hillside, as Greg joined them landing in front of them. Wesley walked up to him, with a serious look on his face, when he addressed his new partner.

"Hey, Greg… I need to talk to you about something…" Wesley said to him.

"Oh no… Not again!" Jamie moaned. "Please, Wes, don't you and Greg start arguing about me again! Please!"

"Relax, Jamie!" Wes assured him. "I'm not going to argue with Greg! On the contrary…"

Wesley turned to face Gregory. He stepped up to him and rested his hands on Greg's shoulders, before he looked at him with a smile on his face.

"Greg… I just want to apologize to you…"

Both Greg and Jamie were staring at Wesley in shock.

"I'm sorry for not trusting you before. I was afraid you'd distract Jamie from his responsibilities and I thought that you were going to blow his secret identity. I couldn't have been more wrong about you. I'm sorry."

"Well, Wes, I guess I can't really blame you for worrying. If I'd been in your shoes I might've been worried too. I admit I did cut it a little close there a few times. But once I really 'got it', about what was at stake for your family, there's no way I would've done anything to blow your secret" Greg replied.

"Jamie's my best friend in the world and I think the world of your mom and dad and even you, Wes. I've known what blowing Jamie's secret identity would've done to all of you. But I guess I should've at least acknowledged your concerns, Wesley and I just never did. So as long as you're apologizing to me, I guess, well, I owe you an apology too. I should never have made you sweat like I let you do and I'm really sorry. It was wrong and I promise I'll do better from now on. Besides, I've always admired what you guys have done as super heroes. In fact, both of you have inspired me to be a cop when I grow up. That's been my goal for a long time and now, more than ever, I really wanna do that. Some day I wanna be a cop so I can help people when they're in trouble."

"What a relief," Jamie sighed.

Wes answered, "You've been a great friend to my little brother, Greg. And I want you to know how much I appreciate that. But, since you two first met, well, you both had so much more in common with each other than either of you did with me and I guess maybe I was just a little bit jealous of you. I hope you can forgive me, Greg."

"Absolutely!" Greg answered. "In fact, I think we should vow to help each other from now on. After all, we're all super heroes now, and we need to work together!"

Jamie extended his left arm palm up, to Wes and Greg. "Here, Greggy laid your right hand on my left palm." Greg did so. "Now, Wes laid your right hand on top of Greggy's." Wesley did so. Then Jamie laid his right hand atop Wesley's.

"Team!" the three boys chorused in unison.

Then, the three boys leaped into the sky, as they flew back home, to Jamie's house. They had formed an alliance, which would eventually become the foundation of a new legion of young super heroes, which was dedicated to doing good deeds, and committed to helping all those who were in need.

The end

Written by tfwizard and edited by TagsNOLA.

July 25, 2005 – February 27, 2006.


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